DaPPA: The Long Night of Winter
by Darksage95
Summary: Nigel chose Hazel as his heir for a reason. Now, her final test has come. With the Time Poles shut down for a 2 year expansion, she must lead the park in a temporary facility in the distant past while Nigel stays behind. Bonds and loyalties are tested as she, her family, her future team, and a homeless herd of Pachyrhinosaurus must survive an unexpected winter. Has natural gore
1. Prologue: Destruction of the North

**_Darksage: Hello people! Darksage95 and Marc Ello Re-Yes here with the next installment of the DaPPA series!_**

 ** _Marc: Yup. Time for some intense action!_**

 ** _Darksage: This is probably going to be our biggest story yet. We've got a lot of action, drama, and character development in store for you guys. Oh, and fair warning, there will be some gore mostly involved in mother nature. So if you're a bit squeamish about that stuff, we'll alert you with a "WARNING: This chapter has decent amounts of gore" in it._**

 _ **Marc: Now a couple of things. First, the characters. Some of the characters that we will involve here will be from different spots of time, but we're not going to make it too major like a mammoth in the Late Cretaceous. They will be from time periods that are close enough to when they lived. Second, as mentioned in the previous story, we'll be dulling down the humor from the Walking with Dinosaurs 2013 movie. Please don't be mad at us.**_

 _ **Darksage: Their jokes weren't that funny!**_

 _ **Marc: Right...anyway, the other thing is despite what the scientific community now says about theropods having feathers, we will adhere to those facts to an extent. If the characters from the media appeared a certain way, then we will stay true to how they looked like in the source media. Nevertheless, we will pay attention to other facts that science has given us.**_

 _ **Darksage: One last thing. If you haven't read the Prehistoric Christmas Bash story, we highly recommend you read it. It is canon to the series and is considered a prequel to this. You don't have to do it, but it's so that you can get a better understanding to some of the characters.**_

 _ **Marc: Well Sage, I don't think we've got anything else to say. Except for the disclaimer.**_

 _ **Darksage: Disclaimer: We don't own Prehistoric Park, Disney's Dinosaur, Dinosaur Revolution, Walking with Dinosaurs, or Walking with Dinosaurs 2013. We also don't own any music. They belong to their respective owners. The only things we do own are the characters we made.**_

 _ **Marc: Awesome. Now let's get this going!**_

 _ **Darksage: Enjoy!**_

 _ *****WARNING: This chapter has decent amounts of gore*****_

 _ **Soundtrack: Breaking Through by Audiomachine/Mum by Paul Leonard-Morgan/The Stampede by Tyler Hildebrand/Tragic (Choir cover) by Yasuharu Takanashi**_

 _Courage. Empathy. Humility. Wisdom. Respect. To be a leader, one must have those aspects ready. They must consider the perspectives of those around them. A leader is there to uphold the values of their companions. Leaders are looked up to, not feared. One that does not support the values and beliefs of others will only find themselves unable to face life. They must also consider their choices in life...no matter how high the price. There are times where one will have those values challenged. To turn away and refuse aid will lead to downfall. But those who stay and face those challenges will soar._

North Alaska

Late Cretaceous, 70 million years ago

Somewhere in the deep recesses of the past lay a lush hidden valley. It being a polar climate, seeing it in so much green would be odd. Yet this land was nestled in the middle of a snow-capped mountain range in the tail-end of the summer season.

Vegetation like conifers, elm, magnolias, cycads, and other greens spanned through the land. A powerful, life-giving river cut through the valley in its winding path south. Grasses that were soft and resilient to the cold were soft, providing a relaxing feel to those treading on it. The air was warm; a precedent to the oncoming cold winds that would come in the near future.

In this land, dinosaurs roamed free. _Pachyrhinosaurus_ , which were the dominant species in the valley, carried about their days without a care, either by eating, doing mock battles, looking after their families, or sustaining themselves. But they were not the only ones. Other species have made their home here. _Edmontonia_ , a spiky armored cousin to the future _Ankylosaurus_ , would meander through the forest looking for tasty greens to eat. Some green-scaled _Parksosaurus_ have made their home here too due to how sheltered the valley was from the outside. Most have already mated at this time and were awaiting the arrivals of their offspring.

While there were many herbivores living in this valley, there were also those who were not adapted to eat nature's bounty. The brown and orange plumed carnivore _Hesperonychus_ prowled the landscape, looking for easy meals in the form of small prey wandering off from the protection of their herds. Then there were the pterosaurs that dominated the skies, alongside the primitive avians that would one day take their place. A group of _Quetzalcoatlus_ , the kings of the skies, always flocked around the river to fish.

But even with the threat of being bothered by small carnivores, life in the valley went on, especially for a young _Pachyrhinosaurus_ playing away from his family.

Taru was an energetic youngling. Barely into his first year, he was what most adults would call, a handful. His parents were well-known in the herd, his uncle was one of the strongest fighters, and he was the eldest son in a clutch of girls, the only exception being his older sister, Magnolia.

His species were coated in browns and topped with reds, with the females sometimes having a paler complexion while keeping to the color scheme. The only differences that give away the genders were the appearance of the horns, with the males having longer and curved horns than the females, and their muscle stature. However, Taru was different. His hide was more of a bright orange with light browns along his back; a trait coming from both of his parents. And while his horns had yet to grow in down the line, they would certainly sport an intimidating presentation. The bump on his snout would also grow in the years to come, becoming thicker and bumpier.

The youngling usually would not play with others. He would always be off in his own world, though he can get along with others if they were nice enough. Engrossed with a small round boulder he found, Taru playfully kicked it with his hooves, all while avoiding the adults he passed by.

"Excuse me! Sorry!" he apologized as he weaved around a _Pachyrhinosaurus_ couple coming back from a drink.

If there was one thing everyone in the herd knew about Taru, it was he would sometimes get himself into awkward situations if he did not pay any attention. In this case, it was him nearly getting sliced by an _Edmontonia's_ tail when the rock went a bit too far.

Luckily, he had the quick thinking to duck, allowing the tail to go over him. It was also by luck that the armored herbivore was busy eating away at a bush rather than paying any mind to a youngling like him.

"Whoo!" Taru laughed as he ran off. "That was a close one!"

Taru's playtime was so engaging that he did not realize he was moving further away from the herd. In no time at all, he was already in the forest nearby, where barely any adults would go, at least, not alone. The conifers, oaks, magnolias, and sequoias stood like sentinels over a landscape that has changed over millions of years. Vines and mosses covered the rocks and logs of the forest floor. Bugs flocked to the tiny flowers that lasted for short periods of time before the winters. Unlike out in the valley, where the wind carried a warm breeze, the air here was still. The trees blocked out the wind like a natural wall.

It was when Taru kicked his rock a little too hard down to a patch of bushes further away that he realized where he was. He looked around, taking in the view of the drooping branches and prehistoric-esque plantlife. His parents warned him to never wander into the woods alone. There were many small carnivores that would see him as a tasty snack. And he was not big enough to fend them off. If his parents found him here, he would surely be in big trouble.

"Oh boy…Mom and Dad are going to kill me if they find out I'm here. And when did it get dark? It was bright a while ago."

The shadows cast down by the leaves above shielded the ground from the sun's rays. Or it would if the sun was even out. By the time Taru wandered into the forest, the sky turned overcast with gray clouds. Once he was about to turn around and leave, his attention was torn away by a small butterfly that fluttered in between his eyes. The beautiful orange and white speckled insect flew away, deeper into the woods.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Taru took off after it.

"Hey! Get back here!"

His little chase brought him deeper and deeper into the pines of the valley. The butterfly led him over logs, between rocks, over ditches, and through foliage. All of which he easily traversed nimbly thanks to his small size. Taru giggled as he imagined flying with the tiny insect. How wonderful it would be to have a pair of wings and be able to touch the sky. Why did they have such bright colors? Why were they so mesmerizing? For having a short life span, they were always fun to look at.

The butterfly then landed in the middle of a small clearing. The insect stood there, flexing its wings from its tiring flight from the tiny horned monster. Taru crept slowly, making sure his footing did not give away any sound.

Finally, when he was close enough, he jumped.

"Oof!"

The winged-wonder flew off as soon as he landed on the very spot it was on. His stomach hurt from the fall, and his head spun in circles.

"Aw…missed," he got up groggily. His vision soon returned to its normal state with a few shakes of his head.

Taru took another good look around. He had never been to this part of the forest before. The vegetation was bigger and there were far more debris than where he was at previously. The moss that hung from the branches drooped down like the tendrils of a hidden monster. No wind blew, which brought about an eerie calm that made Taru anxious.

"Great, I'm deeper in. Dad's really going to kill me now. I'd better head back before they realize I went too far."

Just then, he heard something low and soft nearby. The air, while most of the time is silent, whistled in a near-silent waft. No vegetation rustled from the wind. The only other sounds that the little _Pachyrhinosaurus_ heard were the faint sounds of vocalizing bugs. But that was just it. The wind couldn't have blown into the woods unless it was strong enough. The trees were too clustered to allow that.

Taru froze. Thoughts of the other possibilities raced through his mind. He turned around, hoping that it was not something out to get him. Only, he found nothing. The vegetation and trees remained unmoved. Not even a scurry of a small mammal or another dinosaur confirmed his suspicion. He was all alone.

The youngling turned back around. His feet started to get numb, and he shook with fear. Something was here, watching him. And he didn't like it.

"Um...that was just the wind. Yeah! It was the wind!" he laughed nervously.

His own consolation became void when he heard a deep, guttural growl nearby. Taru, too afraid to turn around, resorted to thinking of another possible explanation to calm himself down.

"The wind moved some rocks... It must be some really strong wind."

He defiantly shook his head, putting on a brave face. "Argh! Pull yourself together Taru! There's nothing to be scared of! Mom and Dad said that this valley is perfectly safe! There's nothing to be afraid of! So long as I don't wander off...which I kind of did. Your uncle's not here either. If he saw me scared, he'd laugh at me like I'm some wimp. I'm not a wimp! What was it he always told you?"

Taru cleared his throat. His uncle taught him a little mantra regarding bravery. Naturally, he also taught him to say that whenever he felt scared. It usually worked, like that time when he experienced his first thunderstorm or when his herd fended off against a couple of _Gorgosaurus_ during his first migration.

"Don't run from fear. Roar at it. Okay…" he inhaled.

The little orange ceratopsian did a 180 and made the angriest face he could make. With everything he could muster from his innards, he let out a very loud bleat…a work in progress compared to an actual bellow his kind would make when they get older.

Taru exhaled. He did it. He matched fear in the face. Satisfaction went through his mind of the ordeal he overcame.

Well, that's what he would be thinking if the fear was not a speckled brown and cream-colored narrow muzzle with jagged rows of teeth.

Taru backed away slowly. Said muzzle snorted a huge waft of hot air on him. The owner of the maw stood up at its full height of 13 feet. Black, malicious eyes stared into timid blues. The creature was huge. Its whole body was covered in a brown feathered down with cream vertical stripes on its back. Its two-fingered arms, while not menacing due to their little size, flexed tentatively. A long, swooshing tail flicked quickly from side to side.

The youngling had never seen this creature before. It looked like a _Gorgosaurus_ , except not. It was about the same size. The whole time he knew of this place, this valley never had any large carnivores. And never did one find this place. His parents said so! This was the safest place ever, save for their feeding grounds!

The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ youngling whimpered as the huge maw split open, revealing a set of giant, sharp teeth. Pillars of saliva dripped down; a pink tongue licked those pointed bones in one swoop.

"Hehe. Oops?" he blurted lightheartedly despite the situation he was in.

 _ ***ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR***_

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Taru took off, running as fast as his little legs could take him. The predator, which was known as an _Albertosaurus_ , followed close behind like a cat to a mouse.

He may be a child, but Taru had a few advantages on his side; speed and the cover of the foliage. And his fear of getting eaten motivated him to go even faster. As he ran, he crawled under logs, weaved in between rocks, and ducked under some foliage. He even ran through a decomposing log, hoping that it would provide him with some cover. That proved to be useless as the carnivore easily squashed the log in two.

His next close call came in when he hopped over another ditch. The predator, being larger and faster, tried to get an attack in. Taru managed to jump out of the way when the predator was about to chomp on his tail.

The Alaskan herbivore then found himself weaving around some trees. Using his size and speed, he used the giant vegetation to try to lose the carnivore. The hunter's size proved to be detrimental as the cluster of the trees slowed it down. The rex-relative roared in anger as the trunks were too thick to properly go through. Only did it squeeze through and cause the trunks to fall did it continue on.

Then, two trees that grew close to each other came into view. Taru saw this, taking it as his chance to escape. He dove in between the gap, the wood not touching his hide at all. At the last moment, the rex's head came through, but found that it could not move forward or backward.

It was stuck.

Taru looked back, his pursuer trapped in between two old elms. He panted, his lungs feeling like they were about to explode. His muscles ached from all that running. But his body condition mattered little as he finally escaped death. The rex roared angrily as it tried to get itself out.

"Ha!" he laughed tiredly. "Shows you! That's what you get for trying to eat me!"

He then approached it as it still struggled.

"Aw, what's the matter? You can't move? Looks like you're in a bit of a wooden pinch!" Taru taunted, kicking some dirt at it and finished with a childish raspberry.

However, this sort of action was one that should not have been done. Angered, the predators reared its head back, sliding its neck against the wood. Tiny splinters chipped off of the bark as the scaly hide rubbed against the trees. Horrible creaks and groans escaped the sentinel vegetation.

Then, almost instantly, the hunter pulled itself out of nature's grasp. An angry look shone in its eyes with the intent to kill.

"Heh…sorry," the little horned child said before bolting in the opposite direction with the tyrannosaur hot on his tail.

The hornless ceratopsian eventually made it to a small log that crossed over a small creek. He quickly traversed it, although slipping in the middle due to some wet moss. Taru then made his way to a steep, muddy bank, which led towards the edge of the forest.

The earth was too steep, but the rocks and roots at least provided him with some footing. He had to run up from side to side just to get himself up. His heart pounding in his chest was annoying enough, but the predator coming in close to him made him feel like he was going to explode.

Right when he was about to get up to the ledge, the root he stood on gave way. Taru screamed at the shock of the fall. But he did not want to end up at the bottom of the little gorge. He jumped up, the front of his body hanging onto the ledge.

Taru looked back, finding the predator at the foot of the muddy bank. To his horror, the carnivore was nearly as tall as the wall he was trying to overcome. The hunter snapped his jaws at the youngling, but once again bit into air. The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ managed to climb up and run off before those teeth could pierce his skin.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he made it to the edge of the forest. He wanted relief to wash over him like a gentle wave, the promise of safety within his grasp. But he was not safe. Neither was anybody. His body wanted to stop, to rest and allow the muscles to recover. His brain said otherwise. As he ran towards his herd that meandered along the plains, going about their day, he screamed at his loudest, bringing about the worst thing they could possibly hear.

"RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!"

The herbivores in the valley looked over at him. Most of which accrued a sense of alarm while others had confusion. Neither of them had any time to process the information as a giant carnivore broke out of the forest edge; the trees and bushes getting uprooted from its monstrous rampage. The roar that escaped its maw sent chills down everyone's spine.

 _ ***ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR***_

One minute the valley was peaceful. And the next, it was in chaos. Herbivores ran eastward, trying to escape the onslaught of the incoming beast. Younglings became separated from their parents due to adults and other dinosaurs barging in their way. The old and the sick lagged behind; their legs took them as fast as they could but just could not keep up. The giant _Quetzalcoatlus_ that were busy fishing flapped madly as they took to the skies, safe from the reach of the incoming monster. Screaming and cries for help filled the air.

And to make matters worse, the predator was not alone. Within a matter of seconds, at least 20 more of them stampeded towards the herbivores from all directions; their numbers increasing steadily.

It was not very long before the sanctuary turned into a bloodbath. Those individuals who were unfortunate enough to lag behind were eventually caught in one of their jaws. The once-pristine grass turned into a hideous shade of red as blood was spilt. The agonizing cries of pain and shrieks of terror echoed into a hell bent symphony of horror. Here and there, carnivores grabbed onto victim. Bones cracking added onto the murder. The body count rose as the moments passed by.

Taru was unlucky enough to witness the death of an elderly _Pachyrhinosaurus_. The old female was surrounded by three of those monsters; two on her sides and the third behind. The one on her left, which seemed to be the biggest of the trio, bit its jaws onto her neck. The herbivore slammed onto the ground, dust flying in the air as she squirmed. Taru's could not see anything beyond the dust cloud, but the female fell silent right after a resounding crack was heard.

He looked away. His eyes and ears now stained by the shock of seeing someone die right before him. A poor child like himself witnessed death in the worst way possible. How could he live on knowing he just saw that? Everyone was dying all around him. Families were being torn apart. The valley was being destroyed by the blood of the dead. Murder was an understatement.

This was a massacre.

Those brave enough to stay behind succeeded in fending off a few of them, only they would allow others to take their place and overwhelm the warriors. Not even the eggs that were still incubating stood a chance. The parents that fought to repel the monsters were either chased off or died along with their developing families. The unborn children were quickly smashed to pieces under the feet of the hunters. The corpses of the stillborn embryos littered the nests in a bloodied heap.

Seeing all this death and destruction around him had left the youngling stranded from the rest of the herd. He had not been paying so much attention that he wandered off! Not to mention his aching muscles had bothered him so much that he started slowing down. By the time he realized his mistake, it was already too late.

One of the monsters had caught up to him on his right. The beast reared back its head and prepared to take him up in its jaws.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Get away from him!"

Something large had collided against the predator from the opposite direction. Taru had little time to process what had been happening at first. But when he did, he found his savior to be someone he both surprised and happy to see. It was one of the adults that he looked up to, and the one he idolized the most, for one day, he would be just like him. He dreamed of it.

His savior was the leader of the herd and his father, Patchi.

He watched his father tussle with the large carnivore. The tyrannosaur tried to get a good bite into the alpha, but could not as the amount of force that the herbivore dealt on his leg tripled. It soon let out a howl of agony as it fell onto the earth; its leg broken and bleeding from being crushed by horns and bone of the ceratopsian.

Patchi turned. His face relaxing from the battle he had. To anyone who knew of Taru and his family, it's that he was everything his father was when he was younger. And he even had his looks too. The youngling was like a miniature version of the alpha. When his eyes fell onto Taru's, he went up to the small child and nuzzled him affectionately.

"Dad!" Taru nudged his head against his father's leg.

"Taru, are you okay?" he asked quickly but with warmth.

"I'm fine. Kind of wet with fear since I stepped on some, but fine," the youngling replied nonchalantly. He had been running behind frightened adults and with all that was happening around him, he did not even think to react to how much crap he had been stepping on.

"Well worry about that later," the alpha nudged his son towards the direction of where the herd was running. The child obliged and followed with him. "Get to your mom and your sisters. They should be near the pass!"

"Okay!"

Both father and son darted along with the herd away from the predators, towards the pass leading out of the grounds. Even before he became the leader, back when he was young, Patchi had been taught by his father that in times of trouble, the herd would need to be led towards the exit of the valley should they need to make a quick getaway. Everyone would gather there, making the typical defensive formation where the young would be in the center and the adults would protect them on all sides. Not once did herds of time past flee from this place, but it was a precaution that was ingrained into their minds in case of emergency.

The pass was noticeable no matter where you were in the valley. It was marked by two twin mountain peaks and a rocky passage that looked like double doors parting ways, well, if doors existed in the Late Cretaceous. The valley was enclosed by the mountain ranges around it like a natural barrier. But while they provided protection from the outside, it also provided little escape routes should the danger fall within. This meant that the only way out would be they would come in.

Taru stayed close to the herd. His father roared the other herd members along, like a dog would with pushing a flock of sheep towards a general direction. And like a guard dog, he would scare off any predator from the group. That was what Patchi did whenever a tyrannosaur came too close to the herd.

The first few were easy. It was when a large, male hunter, wizened by old age by just as fierce, decided to throw the alpha off guard. The carnivore came charging towards them from the east; completely unfazed by the roars of the alpha and the rocks that were apparently in his way. Patchi skidded to a stop and charged. The bull _Pachyrhinosaurus_ shoved him away, ramming him many times like a mace to a shield.

Soon after, he was joined by three other bulls that had caught up to him. Patchi roared in gratitude at them before he rejoined the herd. The other males had told him to get to the others and lead them out of here while they kept the carnivore busy. Taru was saved by him from an adult that nearly stomped on him when he was pushed unceremoniously.

The two of them, along with the rest of the herd, made it to the rendezvous point. Already, the young were being corralled into the center, with the rest of the adults surrounding them. Squeals, bleats, and raspy shrieks echoed from inside the group; the children were crying out in fear from the ambush they were in. The adults, though experienced with handling predators before, stood vigilant and armed at the new threat they had to face.

Taru sped up his gait when he saw a familiar face in the crowd. He sprinted up to a certain adult, and nuzzled her in affection. The female, pale in color and possessed daintier horns, embraced him to her neck with one hoof. This was his mother, and his father's mate, Juniper.

"Mom!"

"Taru! Thank goodness you're safe," she breathed a frightened sigh.

Without another word, she motioned her son into the interior of the circle. There, he met several other younglings his age that rushed up to him, all of which were girls. The first one was larger than him by several inches. She sported a beige hide, much like his mothers, and had orange stripes along her back. Like him, she did not have the prominent horns on his frill, as she was not old enough to have them yet.

The others behind him looked more or less like the older female, except they had different color schemes. Two of them had the bright orange hides except with white stripes on their back. One was colored a light shade of green with the same orange stripes along the posterior. And the last one, who was the youngest of the group, had a bright reddish-orange with beige stripes. All of which looked upon him with slight relief.

Taru was met by a bleat of anger. He cringed at the earful he received by his older sister, Magnolia.

"Where the heck were you!?" the angered female roared angrily at her incompetent brother. While she was indeed worried about his safety, she was also angry that she was that worried thanks to him disappearing without a word. "We thought you were dead!"

"I'm sorry! I was off playing when that scary monster jumped me! Plus I was having a hard time trying to get to this place with all those predators after me!"

Maggie, as her family liked to call her, let out an exasperated groan. "Ugh! This is what happens when you don't listen to Mom and Dad! You always get in trouble! Now your problem just became everybody's!"

A roar interrupted her tirade from behind. All of the younglings, including Taru himself, huddled close to each other. Cries of fear escaped their throats as they prayed for the nightmare to be over. They were surrounded by adults, all of which were fit enough to drive off enemy attacks. There were at least 200 of them living in this valley. They couldn't possibly fail…right?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Patchi roared, his opponent stumbled back as his weight failed him from the shove. The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ rammed again, this time causing more damage than the last time. The horns in the center of his frill pierced the monster's skin. The predator roared in agony as it was forcefully bowled onto the ground. Its legs squirmed in the air and blood seeped from its new wounds. The bones in its chest, which were already broken, now stuck up through the skin.

Before Patchi could deliver the finishing blow, two more of them surprised him from behind. One of them bit down onto his leg, sending jolts of searing pain through his body. Another one landed a clean bite on his neck, just behind the frill. The ceratopsian found himself trapped, and in pain, from two hunters that he did not anticipate.

As the alpha of his herd, it was his duty to ensure the safety of everyone, whether it was during a migration or not. He was the one that was supposed to make sure his extended family was safe. He was the one that was supposed to lead them away from harm. Not once did he ever think that his own herd would be attacked in their home; a place that was relatively safe.

Patchi grunted, refusing to fall. Before he could attempt to squirm free, something broadsided the one that grabbed on his neck. A green blur rammed its body against the leg, causing the predator to shriek in pain. Now released from its hold, Patchi turned and focused his attention on the one that held onto his leg. The predator did not stand a chance as his own leg was pierced by some very sharp horns through the neck. Its death was a quick one.

The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ turned to his savior. His eyes widened when he took in the form of his brother over the now-limp body of the thing that nearly killed him.

"Scowler!" Patchi gasped before coughing out some dust.

The forest green ceratopsian shook his head annoyingly and stomped on a pile of dirt, showing his increasing distaste of his performance. "Geez Patchi! Did you really just forget what I just told you before? Always watch your back!"

The older warrior ran off to chase away some more of the invaders before his younger brother could reply back to his criticism.

"Uh, thanks Scowler! Really appreciate the help!"

As always, he was met with silence from his sibling. Scowler was not much into showing appreciation unless it was someone he looked up to. The prime example was their late father, the previous alpha of the herd. There was that time when Patchi did save him from dying in the jaws of a _Gorgosaurus_ , but that was a one-time thing. Scowler may have acquired more respect for his brother, but he still had that same pride he had when they were children…and when he was the leader for a time. It's not because he did not like him, it's because it made him have a backwards visage of the older sibling giving way to the younger. So much so that he viewed himself as being laughed at for a time even though that was not true. Scowler respected Patchi, but he did his best to not show that respect in the best of times.

To counteract that begrudging respect, he would lecture his brother on what to do as the leader. Scowler's tips on keeping his guard up, how to properly fight, or even what to find potential points of danger during migrations were drilled into Patchi's brain. Somehow, he found content in teaching him, but it was usually through a strict regimen; a remnant of his attitude from the past that he hung onto.

His brother's tips on fighting rung back in his memories as he fought against the invaders. Watch your blind sides, keep moving, anticipate the opponent's moves, and watch for weaknesses, all of that gave Patchi an edge while driving off the ones that were coming at him. Most of them fled the other direction, thanks to some help from the other bulls that came to his aid. Some of them were so stubborn that they found themselves with broken bones and squirming on the ground, or even dead.

A shrill roar pulled his attention from a near-dead beast he was about to off. Looking over, he found his mate squaring off against another one. Patchi ran to her aid when he saw two more of them come behind her. He slammed against them both, pushing them away like two dominoes caught in a stack. The two of them shrieked in surprise like an oddly discordant tyrannosaur in a movie.

Juniper, who quickly got the upper hand against her oppressor by breaking its ankle with a well-timed stomp, joined against her mate in fighting off against the other two. The two predators fled after they had sustained too many stab wounds to their undersides.

"Juniper! You okay?" Patchi inspected his mate for any sign of injury. Thankfully, she had none.

"I'm fine! Thanks," she gave him a reassuring nudge on the cheek. "What are these guys? Where did they come from?"

The alpha shook his head, clueless on how this came to be. "I don't know. Not once has this valley been invaded by large predators. At least, not from my knowledge."

After several minutes of fighting the invaders, the battle seemed to have turned to the herd's favor. The invaders fled, sustaining too many wounds and losing many of their own to their armored prey. The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ roared in victory at the retreating tyrannosaurs, some of which left to chase them back to wherever they snuck through into the valley.

While Patchi and Juniper were happy that the fight was over, a sense of remorse and sadness overcame them when they looked upon the dead. Many of their kind died in the attack; bulls, cows, and younglings alike. The herd suffered a major blow in their numbers. Where once they thrived in nearly 400, now they were down by half that.

They wanted to mourn for the dead. They wanted to say goodbye to their loved ones. Some were elders that lived a full life and wanted to fight for the future of the herd. Others were young warriors that barely got to live in their prime. The younglings did not stand a chance at all against them. The children that had lost their parents in the attack were left as orphans. The ones that were not part of the herd, but were unfortunately caught in the attack, shared the same fates.

The sight was gruesome. Guts were spilled out, both prey and predator alike. Bones that were shattered shone in the overcast gloom like ugly white spikes that had globs of blood. Lifeless eyes stared into nothingness. Mutilated bodies, whether through the attack or from getting eaten, stained the once beautiful valley with blood and death.

"Patchi!" he could have sworn one of the fallen called him faintly. His eyes darted around, searching for the one that said his name. Had the dead come back? Were they crying out for help still? Or was one of them still alive?

"Patchi!" it went again. Where was it? Where was it coming from? If it was a survivor, he was going to find them and get them to safety.

"PATCHI!"

The alpha's trance was broken. He looked over and met his mate's distressed eyes. So it was her that was calling to him. At least what he was thinking before had not been real.

"What? What happened?" Patchi finally answered, shaking his irrational thoughts out.

"It's not over yet. There are more coming!"

His maw fell open in shock. Dread filled his heart like an ominous wave. "What!?"

That was when they heard menacing roars. The ground shook like an earthquake. Something large was coming for them. The surviving herd members braced themselves, pushing the younglings further into the circle as they prepared for the worst.

He looked in the distance and gasped in horror when they found an army of the same tyrannosaurs coming at them from the distance. The retreat that the others gave merely gave the herd a false sense of security. Those that ran after them had not returned; they were most likely trampled to death in the stampede or were shredded by the predators that killed them. Or it could have been that they were wounded and were just retreating to save their skin.

Either way, the herd had come out of the frying pan and into the fire.

There were 20. No, 30. No no…there was more! The numbers kept increasing the more he kept staring at the incoming mob. There could be at least a hundred of those bloodthirsty beasts out for their flesh! If they stayed and fought, chances were they would not make it out alive. Defeating this army was getting thinner by the second. These were no Gorgosaurs. They were bigger and just as fast. They had power and a killer bite in their arsenal.

One alone they could take on. A few of them was not much of a problem. But a pack this size? They were out of their league.

Patchi looked upon the dead; the ones that fell to this attack and were eventually swallowed up by the incoming wave of feathered-flesh eaters. Countless corpses lay in the field like morbid decorations. None of them survived from the invasion. He was not there to help them. He did not get to either of them in time. Had he known how strong these monsters were, he would have just told them all to flee with the herd rather than stay and fight. But no, they went on their own accord. All he thought about was getting those that were not able to fight to the safe zone.

For the first time since he became the leader, Patchi was at a loss. He let most of his herd die. The leader was supposed to be the one with all of the answers and the best solutions. He was the face of the herd, the one they looked up to when they were in danger. He was the one they went to for guidance, for hope, and for support. Patchi's mind was blank. Had he known of this attack any sooner, he would have saved them all.

The sound of a faint caw drew his attention skyward. Coming towards him in rigorous flaps was another feathered being. But unlike the ones that killed most of his kind, this one was small, nimble, and possessed the power of flight. Black feathers covered this creature's body like an ebony coat. Red plumes and an odd beak with sharp grooves adorned this thing's face. The same red coloring surrounded its eyes and parts of its wings, along with hints of white in the interior. Two long plumes trailed behind like flowing ribbons.

Any other creatures would view this one as a nuisance. But to Patchi, this was Alex, an _Alexornis_ that had been with him since his childhood.

"Oi! Patchi! Tenemos un problema!" Alex hovered over them with his usual foreign accent. Had humans lived in this time, they would identify it as Hispanic.

"If it's the incoming army of whatever those things are, then I'm already aware!" he gestured to the incoming mob.

"How many are there?" Juniper asked the bird.

"Ay yi yi! There's too many for me to count! They just keep coming!" Alex flapped frantically; a few of his aged interior down fell off from the outburst.

"What!?" they both jumped in upset.

"I really don't want to state the obvious, but I don't think fighting all these guys at once is un buen idea. Es malo!"

Patchi roared in defiance. One of his hooves met the earth hard, sending a cloud of dust and dirt up in a small cloud. "No! We can take them! We just need a plan!"

"Patchi!"

He looked over at his mate. There was fear in her eyes. Patchi had seen that look before, but never at this level. She was trembling, her breathing was ragged, and was backing away slowly. Where once the brave female that fought to help keep the vulnerable safe was now replaced by a coward that had seen the horrors of battle. She was like a youngling to his eyes now. He wanted to console her, protect her from whatever was coming. When he looked in the direction she was seeing, he began to feel something he hadn't felt since the day his brother beat him in a battle for leadership of the herd.

Helplessness.

Patchi watched as a female _Pachyrhinosaurus_ charged up to one of the tyrannosaurs. Her bony knob made contact with the creature's abdomen, but missed on the vitals. The predator was pushed back, but not before it managed to deliver a devastating blow to her neck with a savage bite. The female screamed in pain, and could do nothing as three more of those monsters came for the kill.

He then saw two more to his left. This time, it was a male that was trying to protect a wounded female behind him. Her wound was that of a broken leg, her hoof bent back in a way that it nearly met the knee. The two of them quickly got surrounded by five of those beasts. Their fate could not be seen as the predators converged. Their screams filled the air, adding to the cacophony of despair and chaos.

Then, Patchi saw something that would haunt him for the rest of his days. He saw three younglings, all of them were about the same age as his own children. Three of those tyrannosaurs picked them up in their jaws. Their blood trickled down their lips as their teeth did what they were made to do. The last child met the same fate, but in a more gruesome way. One grabbed it by the tail while another by the other half. The screams of the youngling turned into shrieks, which then became quiet. His life ended instantly before both halves of his body made it to their stomachs.

Patchi shuddered as he looked away from the gore. He had never seen this much death in his entire life. The predators that his herd managed to take on before were not as big as these. These weren't as numerous either. But this…this was at a whole new level. One that was not only horrifying, but scarring.

He stood there, watching as his herd died fighting these invaders. Here he was, doing his best to fight them all off, to protect the weak and vulnerable, and yet, unable to get to the others. The ones that do get to their wounded comrades end up getting killed themselves. The lucky ones that did escape would retreat into the inner portion of the protection circle.

Patchi was at a loss. Going after the wounded would mean his own death, thus leaving his family to their fate. Staying would mean he would live, but everyone else that wasn't in the protection circle would die. Staying silent was not helping either. Without any orders, the herd would lose their morale…and soon their lives.

Patchi failed them all.

"Patchi, we have to go!" his mate finally had the courage to tell him.

"What?" he roared in defiance. "No! No we can't leave!"

"We have to," she tried to reason while hiding her own fear. "Otherwise we'll all die!"

"This is our home! We can't leave it!"

"I know, but we don't have a choice!" Juniper argued. "If we don't go now, they'll kill us! We go and attack them now, we're dead anyway! We sit here and defend, we're dead regardless! We have to leave!"

"But-" His retort was cut off by Alex's frightful caw from above.

"Sorry Patchi, but your esposa is right! We need to get moving now if we are to stand a chance!"

The bird's argument was supported by Scowler's addition. He did not have to look over to see that he had rejoined his brother by his side. His body had been covered by bite marks and scratches. The blood from them ran down like ugly red streaks.

"Hey Patchi! Not sure if this is a no-brainer, but we're getting overwhelmed!"

Patchi shook his head. This was their home, the only thing they've known since childhood. This valley was their sanctuary, away from the dangers outside. He was born here, raised here. Other than his brother, Alex, and his herd, this place was the only reminder of his late parents and other siblings. Without this place, they would have nothing. This was their home. Home was where they go to escape the dangers, where they could safely raise their families and reconnect with the ancestors that left them via being with the place. This valley is a reminder of all that was good in the world.

Or…in the perspective of Juniper, Scowler, and Alex, it WAS a reminder of all that was good.

"Patchi, the valley is lost," Juniper tried once more to reason with him. "There's nothing left for us here. We need to go."

The panic-stricken male growled. His conflicted gaze met his mate's once frightened eyes. Where once she had fear was then replaced with determination. Juniper was scared, but schooled herself for this moment. They were all in danger. For one of the leaders to be frightened would cause everyone to lose it. Juniper could have turned and run, taking the children with her. But she did not want to leave anyone else behind.

In Patchi's experience, his mate was always right. This irritated him for this moment. He wanted to stay and fight. He wanted to protect his home, even if it would kill him.

But she was right. The herd needed him. His friends needed him. And his family needed him.

His heart tugged painfully in his chest. With a reluctant groan, he whispered the one thing he never thought he would say.

"Fall back."

His mate gasped, surprised at the response she got.

Patchi turned around, proclaiming his order before making his way around the circle. The herd members watched in surprise and confusion as they processed the new order that was given to them.

"Everyone, fall back! We need to get out of here! If we don't go, we'll die!" he told all of them.

"You heard the leader! You stay, you become part of a predator's buffet! Now let's go!" pressed Scowler.

To see their leader flee from the battle towards the valley entrance was appalling. To hear him say to retreat was…most unlike him. Not once did Patchi flee from battle since he became leader. He always looked out for the herd, making sure that nobody was left behind. Seeing him retreat with his tail between his legs was like seeing a coward win an internal battle against the resolute and strong leader they knew.

But he was the leader. They could not defy his command. They were about to object when they saw their alpha female follow along with him. Even Scowler, their most powerful bull next to the leader, was following the alphas. A proud warrior such as himself would never flee a battle. Scowler would always stay and fight. Nothing would make him turn once he made a decision. To say that he was a hardhead would be an understatement. Determined and arrogant would be better terms. Their former leader following Patchi out of the valley was unlike him.

Reluctantly, and fearfully, the herd followed the alphas and his brother. The younglings stayed close to the adults; being urged along by their bellows and nudges like a flock of sheep. Alex, who did not have that much of a problem with the crowd, merely flew higher and sped forward through the prehistoric sky.

Patchi made it to the wall of the valley. He watched as his herd ran through the passage. Bellows, groans, and screams echoed down the large gap. His head moved from left to right, making sure that nobody was being left behind. Juniper was already at the front, so she could lead them out of there. Once he was certain that no one was left, he would take the rear.

A series of menacing roars brought his attention towards the back of the herd. His eyes widened in horror when he saw the predators following behind them. Their mouths and teeth were coated in blood.

Fortunately, they were far enough away from any lethal hits. In fact, it almost looked like they were not even interested in coming for another kill.

Were they…slowing down?

Patchi wasted no time in thinking about that. Once the last youngling and adult made it through the passage, he took up the rear. He ran as fast as he could down the gap. Making it through the first creek that surrounded the valley, he turned around, his gasps escaping him in pained heaves. If dinosaurs could sweat, then it would be falling in globs on his face.

The valley entrance, which once was a welcoming sight with the greenery and fresh water glistening under the sun, became a gate of death. The tyrannosaurs that followed them roared up in the air victoriously. The valley they ambushed contained hundreds of dead prey that would support them for many moons.

Patchi briskly turned away, hiding the tears that began to fall. He needed to get back with the herd. He ran up to his herd, fleeing towards the darkening sunset that shone through the dark foreboding clouds.

The home that he once loved was no more.


	2. Criticisms and Suspicions

_**Disclaimer: Darksage95 and Marc Ello Re-Yes do not own Prehistoric Park, Disney's Dinosaur, Walking with Dinosaurs BBC, Walking with Dinosaurs 2013, or Dinosaur Revolution. Also, they do not own any of the music or guest OC's in the story. They belong to their respective owners.**_

 _ **Soundtrack: United we Stand, Divided we Fall by Two Steps from Hell**_

 _Introduction…_

 _There is something missing from our world. The amazing animals that time has left behind. But what if we can bring them back? What if extinction didn't have to be forever? We're going back in time on a safari with a difference, as wild life adventurer Nigel Marven plunges into pre-history to rescue creatures on the brink of extinction. His plan is to bring them back to the safety of the present and give them a second chance. Last time, Hazel and her friend, Flia, went back in time to find and rescue an Allosaurus, only to get more than they bargained for. Now, Hazel is joined by a new group of trainees like herself as they must lead everyone in Prehistoric Park to survive in a whole new time filled with danger. Welcome to the ultimate wild life sanctuary. Welcome to Prehistoric Park._

Hazel ran through the brush. The ferns and palms before her slapped against her body as she rushed passed them. Some of the ferns were a bit sharp on the edges that they made little scratches on her body. Her legs also received miniature scratches from the stray branches on the floor.

It had been a while since she was in a situation like this; being chased down due to provoking a few carnivores into attacking. The last time she was in a situation like that was when she was back in the Late Cretaceous during her first solo mission. That was about a year and a half ago, back when she first met her friends that now lived in Prehistoric Park. She was being chased by a pack of _Velociraptors_ when she first arrived. This situation was much like that, except instead of being in a scorching hot desert, she was in a lush green jungle during the Late Jurassic.

The only thing that was similar between the two situations, besides getting chased, was the heat. The Late Jurassic was known to be a hot time in prehistory, but right now was quite literally hot. That was due to the forest fire that was made by a lightning strike from a scattered thunderstorm where no rain fell. To her left, just several yards away, she could see the smoke and the flames crawling towards her position. The cloud of burning debris hit her nostrils, filling her lungs with the scent of smoke. Her eyes started to tear a bit, but she had no time to wipe them away.

A flash of electricity streaked above. The sky lit up in frenzy with the storm looming above. Hazel flinched at the sight, but did not stop at all.

 _ ***CRASH***_

 _ ***BOOM***_

The thunder above banged in the sky. Her ears rang from the sudden celestial boom. She nearly tripped again when the sound threw her off. Hazel could not afford to stop now. Her ears ached for a few seconds, and then shook it off before continuing on.

Her lungs ached, and so did her muscles. They were gaining on her. She could hear their roars and screeches through the foliage. They weren't far behind; probably by fifty feet. It was only thanks to the forest vegetation and the occasional large boulders around that slowed her pursuers down. That and that she had a head start from the get-go.

Hazel ducked under branches, jumped over logs, and weaved around trees. During one of her jumps, she stumbled on the ground. A gasp escaped her when she almost fell on a sharp rock that would have broken her skull had she fallen on it. Glad that she did not meet it, she took note of the other thing that was in front of her; a three foot long branch with three smaller twigs hanging off it. She grabbed it and continued on her sprint.

The hoots, chirps, and snarls sounded louder now. Though she had been running for the next few minutes, her trip had slowed her down a bit. Any more of a delay on her part and they would catch up to her in a brief minute.

Being in a hot environment, Hazel needed to be prepared. Her attire and appearance helped her with coping with the ever-tropical climate of the Jurassic. Her medium length black hair was pulled back and held by a large claw clip into an up do and wore an athletic jade T-shirt, denim shorts, and tennis shoes, was seemingly trapped. Her new purple travel bag, while containing not as much survival supplies as her last trek to this period, did not weigh her down thankfully.

Finally, she found herself at the edge of the forest. The tree line she ran across turned into a barren edge. But her salvation was only misleading as the clearing was actually several feet away from the edge of a cliff.

Hazel skidded to a stop, her body crouching a bit in the process. Quickly looking over, she saw that the canyon below was several hundred feet down. There was a small river running across, but she had no idea whether it was deep or not. Not that it mattered anyway. Across from her was another forest, perhaps part of this one until a recent geologic event that split it apart.

She turned around. The forest blaze was starting to build up. Already, the trees inside were starting to catch on fire. She had made it out and escaped getting burned and smoked to death.

That was not the problem though. Her real problem came when five; ten-foot long, bi-crested slender carnivores came crashing out of the brush. Standing at about two feet above her, the medium-sized carnivores stalked up to her. Their teeth and claws were brandished, ready to tear her apart at the first strike. All of them sported dark brown hides, which got lighter down the underbellies. Tan vertical stripes streaked their backs while white stripes ringed around their tails. The only difference between the individuals was their crests. Three of them were bright red while the other two were a dull gray. It was sexual differentiation no doubt, since the males were more colorful than the females.

While Hazel had seen several dinosaurs in her adventures, encountering _Dilophosaurus_ in the middle of the Late Jurassic was certainly a surprise. How they survived this long was a mystery. This was not the first time she met a creature outside of its timeline; the main examples being Baylene the _Brachiosaurus_ along with the rest of her main circle of friends, the lemur clan from Late Cretaceous Africa, and the herd they belonged to. Nevertheless, this was a surprise, but one that was not unwelcome. Where one would view this as bad luck if they were ill-prepared, Hazel saw this as an opportunity.

The _Dilophosaurus_ , though out of breath, inched closer to their target. The blaze behind them grew tremendously in size thanks to the dry air and foliage. Neither of them seemed to care about the impending danger that they escaped.

Still holding the branch in hand, Hazel eyed all of the predators, while inching closer to the edge of the cliff.

"End of the line, mammal," said the one named Blaine. The others kept calling out to him while they chased her through the forest. His voice was deep with a bit of an edge to it. To Hazel, it reminded her of Ron Perlman when he starred in the Hellboy movies. Since all of the other carnivores were falling behind him a bit, he seemed to be the leader. Not to mention that his crest was a brighter red than the other two males. "You've run your last."

"Oh no," she flailed her arms up while putting up her frightened façade. The demeanor was not very convincing, as all of them seemed to have taken it as some kind of an insult for not taking the situation seriously. "I seem to be in a pickle. I'm trapped in a corner. Oh, whatever shall I do?"

Blaine chuckled, his tone having some rasps in it. "Nowhere to run. You've got two choices kid. You can either come to us, where we'll give you a quick painful death, or you can fall off the cliff and have a delayed, but still painful, death."

One of the other males, a younger one with a splotch of black at the crest tip, cackled. His voice was a bit lighter, but it reminded Hazel of teenaged thug in a city. "Personally, we prefer the latter."

The alpha male sighed. "Yes Duane. I think she knows."

Hazel pondered on that, putting a hand on her chin. "So either I go to you and become your dinner or jump off where I won't become your dinner, but still die. Well that's a tricky one."

One of the females screeched in annoyance. This one, unlike the other female, had gray spots on her snout. Her accent was a bit grating to her ears, much like that of a woman with a hard New York accent. It wasn't exactly as piercing as Rascal the _Troodon_ , but it was rough. Judging by how close she was getting to Blaine and how she kept looking at him for an answer, Hazel guessed she could be his mate, or maybe the alpha female. "Come on Blaine! Let's just finish her off! We got her right where we want her!"

The other female shrieked in reply, though in a much gritty New Jersey accent. "Yeah! I'm starving!"

"Rae! Lyssa! Be patient!" he ordered the two females.

The third male, who had no differential markings to set him apart from the other males, stalked forward as well. "Let me have the first bite!" he turned the right side of his face towards the human. Tiny scrapes and scratches stained his once-pristine face. "She threw that rock at my face!"

The human resisted the urge to snicker. Just a few minutes ago, she threw a rock at one of them, apparently this one. It was the only way to get their attention and to get them to chase her. It was for a good reason, making herself the bait. But if there were any other option, she would not have resorted to that type of violence.

"No fair Spurlock!" Duane complained at the deeper-voiced male. "I wanted to have the first bite!"

"Quiet!" the alpha male ordered. His subordinates silenced immediately.

Hazel rolled her eyes. These guys were like a comedic gang in a Saturday night show. Here she was the first human they met in their lifetime, about to die either by their jaws or by falling off the cliff. And yet they did not notice she was humored by this banter.

"Well, I can't say that being eaten by five crested kill mongers would be a good way to go," she started off in a sassy remark. "Personally I'd rather be eaten by something more...worthy."

The _Dilophosaurus_ pack stalked closer to her. Their teeth now dripped by pillars of slobber. Their menacing eyes locked onto her as they imagined killing her to silence the insults she was blathering out. As they got closer, she backed up slowly to the edge of the cliff.

"I mean, come on! You guys are cool, but personally, I'd rather have my head chomped off by a _Saurophagonax_ , an _Allosaurus_ , or a _Torvosaurus_." Looking back at them, she saw they were confused at the mention of those names. This was probably the first time they heard them, or at least most of them. "Oh, I doubt you know what any of those are. I'll tell you this much, they're bigger, scarier, and would eat you guys for snacks; so much for being top dog. I'll take them any day because unlike you guys, they know how to make a clean kill. When it comes to killing, your kind is...oh what's the word? Sloppy?"

"That's it!" the one whom she threw the rock at earlier exploded. "She's dead!"

"Get her!" Blaine finally commanded.

Hazel smiled. She raised her branch up and did the one thing that the predators did not expect at all. The human crouched down, leaned back, and jumped…right when they were about to pounce on her.

The hungry predators did not need to worry about how to get to their prey, for they found themselves falling after her when they collided into each other after that attack. One misstep was all it took to send them free-falling into the canyon. Their screams and shrieks echoed like a discordant record breaking.

Almost immediately after falling, Hazel found herself being hoisted back up into the air. One quick look up and she found a giant pterosaur carrying her by the branch she held up. This one, unlike the smaller pterosaurs she encountered in this time period, had a large wingspan and a noticeable flat crest on her head. Hazel laughed; she expected this to happen, especially when she saw her come in from her peripheral vision while she distracted the _Dilophosaurus_ earlier.

Hazel quickly dug into her pocket and found a small square object. She felt one of the buttons on it and pressed it. One part of the side of the cliff flashed with a shimmer of light as two poles that were lodged against the wall lit up. The pack of Jurassic carnivores free-fell into the portal, disappearing from the time period.

She pressed the button again, turning the portal off. When she did that, the _Pteranodon_ that carried her flipped the human up into the air like a swing. Hazel fell onto the saddle that was given to her last year on her birthday. The branch she had with her fell into the canyon below.

The duo of explorers flew up to the canyon wall. The human worked to get the poles loose from the rocks. This was not the first time she performed this sort of feat. This was actually the second time. The last time this sort of thing happened was when she rescued Diablo, the park's Resident _Carnotaurus_ , in the same way. That time happened when she was helping her friends and their herd with getting to their Nesting Grounds. He was rescued in time before he could fall to his death, but this rescue led up to some dramatic consequences that she had to face later.

This time, at least she didn't have to contend with those problems again.

"That went off better than I thought," she mused as she stuffed the first pole into the largest pocket in her bag.

Another streak of light illuminated the sky. The duo jumped a little at nature's surprise. Hazel nearly fell off the saddle, but caught herself when she hung onto the leather strap. Her partner slowed her hovering; the bobbing got smoother and smoother.

The crash of thunder was mild. None of them reacted as badly as the appearance of the lightning. Regardless of the status of the storm, Hazel hurried with getting her Time Poles out of the wall.

"Hazel, why is it that you always come up with the craziest ideas?" Flia ranted like a mother scolding her child. The human grimaced at the sudden outburst. "You scared me half to death! I thought you were going to die!"

"Hey it was part of the plan," she yanked out the last one when they went over to it. "You were the one that told me there was a cliff roughly a mile out from the mud pond. You were following me overhead towards the cliff when you saw me lead the _Dilophosaurus_ to that place. So I naturally assumed you knew what I was going to do. Besides, I saw you fly in from the side before I fell off."

"You almost killed yourself!" she gave her a watchful, glaring squint. "Next time, you should tell me before you do something stupid like that!"

"I couldn't!" Hazel retorted, seemingly unfazed by the criticisms she was getting. "That would have told them what we were going to do!"

"Well the next time you come up with these crazy ideas, I may not be there to save you! Then you won't have anyone to bring you back home in one piece! And you and I both know that there will be certain individuals that will grieve when they find out you died in an outing like this!"

The woman shoved the last pole into her bag. Flia's scolding was something she grew used to, but sometimes, she did find it annoying. Hazel was learning on how to drown it out though. However, this time, the sky scout did have a point. The Asian had no way of communicating with her from the large amount of distance between each other. Yelling would not work out very well most of the time. That was something she should think of later on.

"Fine, fine," she replied in an almost defeated tone. "I'll be more careful next time. And I'll see if I can have Marcus make some kind of communicator for you so we can keep in touch when we're apart. Maybe a walkie-talkie collar, I don't know."

"Whatever can prevent this miscommunication from happening again is fine by me."

"I'll get to it when we get back then."

Their argument ended post-haste when she made that promise. Flia's temper dropped to a good level, her frustration died down like an ocean wave receding. The two of them flew over the canyon gap and then up the other side of the canyon, the human hanging onto the leather straps of the saddle. Flia landed nimbly on the edge, safe from the hundreds of feet drop. The heat of the forest blaze was nothing more than miniscule pricks on their skin.

"So what are we going to do with our other...partners?" said Flia, mentioning one other detail of their mission into this time period.

Hazel cocked an eyebrow. "You mean the new rescue team?"

The _Pteranodon_ crossed her wings over her chest, like a human would with their arms. "You just left them behind when you lured those predators away. Not to mention they're still in the middle of that burning forest most likely trying to get acquainted with our new friends."

" _Oh right…them_ ," Hazel remembered.

This rescue mission into the Late Jurassic was supposed to be a solo mission, until Nigel persuaded her into bringing a small team of rescue trainees with her. "It's to get their feet wet", "let them see how a rescue is done", "they need to know what sort of dangers and environmental factors they would need to deal with when going through a rescue mission". These trainees, most of which were older than Hazel by quite a bit, had little to no experience with surviving in the wild, much less in a prehistoric era. They were, however, well-versed with other forms of science like zoology, biology, and a couple of botany.

The flabbergasted reactions they had when she spoke with some passing _Camarasaurus_ like talking to a random stranger in a street the day before were priceless to her. They may already have their communicators, but their dumbfounded features made her day. Of course, she needed to teach them a few things on what sort of dangers to look out for and how to ration their supplies. She felt like a camp counselor with a few kids on summer vacation, not that she minded the opportunity though. They did ask her a lot of questions, and sometimes she was commented on for being crazy for doing what she did on the field. She didn't let the negative get her down. Hazel felt important in this, which made her feel good.

"You just left them behind when you lured those predators away. Not to mention they're still in the middle of that burning forest most likely getting acquainted with our new friends," Flia reminded again.

Hazel scoffed, flabbergasted by how offensively she put it. "I didn't forget about them. I was going to say we need to go check up on them. They've got the situation under control."

The _Pteranodon_ raised a brow. "Really?"

"I'm sure of it!" the human pondered for a moment on the outcomes of the meeting her group would have. They were inexperienced in time traveling and they were not very seasoned with interacting with prehistoric denizens. The new communicators Marcus made for the novices did break the language barrier, but their time in Prehistoric Park was not very long. This was their first outing after all. "Well...I'm 70% sure they have it under control."

The purple and brown pterosaur rolled her eyes. Though she had no idea what sort of numerical nonsense the humans knew of, she figured well enough that there was a small chance that their "companions" were not having a good time.

"You're being irresponsible Hazel. Leaving your teammates behind while you lured the predators away and assuming they were going to be fine."

"A team of 8 keepers, including those three guys that Nigel and the others assigned as my own personal future park cabinet?" the human chuckled. "They're in a clearing with just a mud pond, the fire isn't too close to them due to the limited vegetation around, and there are no predators."

She was met with a serious glare, which made the young woman relent at Flia's pestering. "Ugh...fine. We better check on them."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back within the forest…in a pond clearing

Chris jumped and rolled out of the way. The spiked tail slammed onto the dirt just mere feet from where he stood. It was a good thing he had fast reflexes, otherwise he would have been smashed under that thagomizer. Or worse, he may have been stabbed to death by those spikes.

To say that his first outing into prehistory was wild would be nowhere near the level of the best description. The better description would be like stepping into a Wonderland existence where only those with the right mindset would be able to survive. The head of the expedition, Hazel Veran AKA his future boss, easily traversed this time like it was a walk in the park! The first dinosaurs they met, a group of _Camarasaurus_ , which he remembered due to doing a bit of studying before their trip into the past, she walked up to them and asked for insight on where their target rescue may be. She wasn't worried about getting stomped on or getting ambushed by any predators in the area, not that there were any. That girl was just so…casual about being in the Jurassic! Maybe it was because that _Pteranodon_ was with her? Flia, was it? That big flyer was both her best friend and also playing as her bodyguard.

How come she gets a _Pteranodon_ as a partner? All he got as his wards were those annoying little…

Bah, he'd rather not think about it. Anymore distractions and he may end up getting squashed by a 3.5 ton Jurassic giant with a bad attitude.

They had been in this time period for at least 24 hours. The mission was to find and rescue a creature called a _Yi_ , or more specifically a _Yi qi_ , which was a small, bird-like dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic. Nigel Marven said that it was predominantly discovered in China, however, due to a recent discovery presented on CNN last week, fossils of this same creature were found in the northwestern portion of the United States. The rescue group was shown an artist's rendition of a Yi; it looked like a mix between a bird and a dinosaur. The wings were half feathered and half membrane on the way down. The coloration was a bright orange mixed with reds. The tail had three long plumes and the beak was also colored red.

Chris had no idea how such a creature could have traveled all the way from the middle of Asia to the US. One theory would be they traveled over using the small strips of land that still connected the two continents together. According to the news report, the bones were reported to have dated back to the Late Jurassic.

From what he learned about the Prehistoric Park leader and the rules of a rescue in general, finding and bringing back a target(s) is a careful process. Going around just bringing back potential Residents without getting their say-so or whether the situation was right or not has a fine line of being labeled as a kidnapper or a Samaritan. Next, bringing back a creature that was too dangerous for everyone's well-being, i.e. they planned to kill for sport, would not bode well for the park. Finally, there was the space and the resources in the park to consider. There needs to be enough to support whatever rescues they're bringing back.

Going back in time to bring back an animal, or how Veran liked to say, "Potential rescues", was a delicate process. Then again, after today, he could be wrong. Nigel and this girl were finicky about their choices in a mission.

Nevertheless, he along with 7 other novices ventured to Late Jurassic United States, 155 million years ago. The information that woman got mentioned their intended rescues lived in a forest about a few miles north of their position. Seriously, how do these dinosaurs know anything about distance? How do they know about days? Heck, how do they even know the names of their own species and others?

So many questions filled his head. It was like he was the scientist trying to find answers to everything in a work of fiction made for juveniles. Instead of referring to the group leader by her first name, he always called her by her last name; reason being was that he didn't feel like a group of adults should be led by a "child", even though she was three years his junior. That and he believed she's crazy when being in situations like these. It wasn't that he hated her; it's because her ideals clashed with his. Some days, they would just quietly respect the others' decisions, albeit reluctantly or one of them didn't care. But most days, they'd be in a full-blown verbal battle on what was right and wrong. Those situations would usually end when someone would break them up to focus on more important matters.

With all of the questions he had about communication logic with the dinosaurs, he had no choice but to bring it up to the only nearby expert. His answer made him more irritated: "Out of personal experience, it's better to leave questions like those unanswered when asking those from the distant past."

As much as he didn't like that answer, he knew was going to go nowhere with satisfying his curiosity. Hypothetically speaking, the other employees back at the park may not give him better luck either. He heeded his "leader's" advice and dropped it.

Their mission was going off smoothly, until about 45 minutes ago. Veran had been flying with Flia above their heads while they trekked through a Jurassic jungle. The cloudy skies lit up in bright flashes of light, yet no rain fell. It would seem they were going to have a scattered thunderstorm of some sort. Everyone stayed in contact with each other via walkie talkies that had a range of 40 miles. What was even better was that they were all modified by Ellis' brother, Marcus.

Ah, the Reys. Quite an interesting duo; both Filipino too, like him. Marcus was the head of the engineering department in Prehistoric Park. He was in charge of making sure that the security appliances as well as any vehicle or piece of equipment was working properly. He was also the one who made sure that each employee's communicator was working properly. Without those earpieces, they wouldn't be able to communicate with any prehistoric creature at all. He was pretty chill, much like Nigel and his supervisor, Bob. The only difference was he was informal in both fashion and personality; always talking about the newest Marvel or DC movie or the best video game of the year.

Then there was his younger brother, Ellis AKA his new trainee. He was much like his brother in style and attire, except for one thing. He was lazy. One time, he was caught napping in his brother's workshop instead of making sure the stun guns they had in their shed were working properly. They were both in an argument about it, with Marcus winning in the end. Ellis was able to fix the stun guns thankfully. He was good in his profession. He just lacked enough motivation. The guy was a jokester and sometimes his amiable personality was a bit annoying. Chris was fine with him…as long as he wasn't the center of his attention for hours on end.

With each rescue, there needed to be at least a medic or two. That was Daisy's job. Daisy White was a shy girl of 19, as of January 23, from Athens, Greece. She was soft-spoken to nearly everybody in the park. Chris could speak a little Greek, which would please her for a bit. Not everyone in the park could speak that language. The blonde was respectable and a bit sensitive if bothered the wrong way. But overall, she was a good asset to the group. Daisy may be training to be the head veterinarian of Prehistoric Park, but even she had good knowledge in medical emergencies, especially when one of the guys in the group tripped into a ditch when he didn't see that root on the ground. His leg had a sizeable gash, but that was quickly covered in a sterilized ointment and wrapped in bandages in under 10 minutes.

Hopefully she wouldn't have to do too much if anyone survived this _Stegosaurus_ assault.

That Veran kid…she left them alone! She and her _Pteranodon_ sped forward after their leader screamed into the radio saying that she found something. Naturally, the group hurried in that general direction but was quickly left behind. He was mad, big time. How could a leader leave her whole group? She's supposed to come back for them!

They eventually made it to some pond clearing in the middle of the forest. It was a bit barren, save for a few patches of grass here and there. The pond was mucky and gross-looking, but if you were a thirsty animal wanting to get a drink, then sanitation was considered null. But the pond did contain a few warning signs, such as the skeletons of small creatures that were within the murky shores that died when they got stuck themselves. Their leader and her flying friend weren't there, but they did encounter something else entirely.

Trapped in the mud at least a couple yards from the shore up to its chest was a _Stegosaurus_ ; a female one if the crying and the dull gray coloration were anything to go off of. Her tail was swinging around wildly as she struggled to move her legs. But that was not all that was interesting. Clinging onto her black-lined gray plates were four tiny birds. Actually, birds wouldn't be the right label. They 2 hand fingers, one of them hidden in the wings. Two of them were blue and green, while the other two were dull browns; just like modern-day peacocks. They had feathers in their wings, but the bottom half was a brown membrane, like a bat.

They were _Yi qi_! Those _Camarasaurus_ weren't kidding then. There were some here. The two foot long birds were helplessly clinging onto the female _Stegosaurus'_ plates. From what Chris learned of them, they were adept at gliding. Should they take off from those plates, they'll only find themselves stuck in the mud like the _Stegosaurus_.

Well, at least they found their target rescues. But there was a problem. That problem came in the form of a dark grey, bull _Stegosaurus_ charging at them. And that was because one of the guys was stupid enough to fire their stun gun at him after thinking he was a large carnivore, thus provoking him. The other team members scattered before the tail could hit any of them. His plates flushed red, indicating his attempt to intimidate them; not much that would do because everyone else was already on edge.

Bull _Stegosaurus_? A female trapped in the mud. Always keeping the other humans away whenever they got close to her? Sounds like these two were mates and he probably thinks that they are there to hunt them down.

All attempts to talk some sense into the male became void quickly. He would just tell them all to buzz off with his deep, gravelly voice. Geez, he sounds kind of like a cowboy from the 1940s in his ears. That and combined with the roars and swipes of his tail and they had an angry bull that couldn't tell the difference between friend and foe.

Of course, no one would leave the couple alone. Their rescue targets were just a few feet away. What made matters worse was when they all starting shooting at him with their stun guns. Being a large animal the size of an elephant, the voltage being set at around 4 on the scale should incapacitate him. But all it did was make him madder.

And this mission got a whole lot more difficult the moment they smelled smoke. When Chris looked over to his right, he saw the flickering of a blaze coming from the forest. Oh great…a forest fire. The dry thunderstorm above their heads had apparently resulted in a lightning strike hitting the ground. If nothing was done with these guys then they would all get roasted. Well, that was if the fire could get to them, but there was nothing that could get to them easily in this murky pond. If anything, they would all suffocate from the smoke.

"Hey, watch out!" he yelled at one of the other team members.

Chris dove forward and slammed the guy's body onto the dirt. The thagomizer swung over their heads by a few inches. He brought himself up, helping the red head as well. His brown cotton Seattle T-shirt and khaki shorts were now covered in the moist dirt. His bag, which was several feet away, thankfully did not get smashed as he threw it off as soon as the male started attacking. He couldn't really say the same for the other guy though. While his bag was also off, he had apparently landed on some dried dinosaur feces, which was now splattered all over his shirt.

"Ew!" he complained in an Australian accent. The red-head, which he remembered was Ryder, threw his Aussie hat back in frustration at the appearance of the cotton, light grey button shirt. "Ah crikey! This was my second favorite shirt!"

"Yeah well, you should have thought of that before you decided to go on this trip!" he retorted. "And watch your surroundings too!"

The poor dirtied novice hurried to the forest edge, wanting to get away from the rampaging _Stegosaurus_ male so he could mourn the condition of his attire. Chris shook his head. They were in the middle of the Mesozoic era, about to get spiked or smashed by a dinosaur, and all he was worrying about was his shirt?

Before he could do any more on the situation, a loud caw drew him upwards. Looking up, his eyes followed a large pterosaur that circled around the clearing. The figure had a purple and brown coloration, descended slowly until it landed just a few feet from him. The Jurassic period was a time that had small flyers, not large ones. That and this one had a distinct large crest. A _Pteranodon_ …figures. And disembarking from the pterosaur's back was a young woman in her early 20s wearing a light green athletic T-shirt and denim shorts.

A bolt of lightning streaked above them. The sound of crashing thunder made them jump. The trio looked above their heads, expecting drops of rain, only to find none. The young man sighed and crossed his arms, eyeing the recovering leader of the mission.

"Glad to see you dicking around while you ditched us," he glared at her as she approached.

She stopped before him, her face unchanged by the sharp remark he made. "Sorry, I had to lure away a pack of _Dilophosaurus_ before they could become a problem. Considering that the forest fire was driving everyone out and they would become Jurassic barbecue if nothing was done, I had to take the chance. The rescue was pretty easy."

Flia snorted, mildly drawing the attention of the two humans. "Right…easy."

"Yeah well you left us behind to deal with a 3 ton rampaging pea-brained Stego who can't tell the difference between friend and foe!" Chris ranted, gesturing his hands over to the bull Stegosaurus that was chasing everyone away. The rescue team was screaming as they kept firing shots from their stun guns while avoiding that deadly tail. "What, were you planning to let us fend for ourselves while we juggle with dealing with a brainless bull or becoming fried by a wildfire?"

Hazel put her hands on her hips and shouted. "No! I was just taking the opportunity that was thrown in my face! And why the heck is the male _Stegosaurus_ attacking you?"

"Both of you! Stop it! This is no time to argue!" the _Pteranodon_ shrieked.

The two of them looked at the pterosaur, now quiet from the retort she made. "There is a time and a place for everything, but arguing while we're in a dangerous situation is not one of them. And I hope you two are aware that our other friends are having a problem they can't solve themselves."

Hazel looked back at the pond. The male _Stegosaurus_ was busy with contending with the other humans, but there was something else that caught her eye. A female _Stegosaurus_ was half sunk in the mud. Four _Yi qi_ were clinging onto her plates. She face palmed.

"I got this."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hazel ran over to the male _Stegosaurus_ , veering passed a couple of the novices that tried to fire their stun guns. Hazel told them all to stop, which they obeyed hesitantly. All eyes fell on the girl as she approached the ticked off Jurassic giant.

"Conan!"

The armor-plated creature turned around. His grey, anger-filled eyes gained a sense of knowing at the approaching human. Recognition hit his features immediately. "You...you came back."

The woman chuckled sheepishly, much to the confusion and thin-worn temper of some of her associates. "Sorry, I was busy with luring those _Dilophosaurus_ away. They won't be much of a problem now. I see you met some of my other friends."

The male looked around. His eyes followed each one of the humans that were present, even the _Pteranodon_ female that was among them. He saw from his peripheral the same human girl draw a hand up and down. The weapons they had in their hands lowered. Conan shuddered at the misunderstanding he created. He had been attacking the ones that were with her, but all because one of them accidentally attacked, thus making him go into a rampage. As a result, he went ahead and attacked them in fear of them attacking his mate, Tsuki, due to their hostile first impression.

"I'm sorry...I didn't know they were with you, but one of them attacked me with their light sticks first," his narrow muzzle lowered apologetically.

Hazel shrugged. He was protective of his mate, so that couldn't be helped. Still, one of her eyes twitched in annoyance at the mention of one in her team attacking an innocent. "Tell me, who was the one who attacked you?"

The male looked over at the culprit, who was the young man with the red-hair that was coming back to the group after desperately cleaning his shirt. Smears of dry feces were still there; he walked tentatively in disgust as the feces touched his skin. He found the young 20-year-old woman glaring at him. The other people did the same. He staggered back, lifting his hands up in confusion.

"Uh…everything alright, mates?"

Hazel rolled her eyes and frowned at him. She turned her gaze back to the male in question. "I'll have my superiors deal with him later."

She then looked over at the trapped female, who remained silent the whole time. Her face too lit up in recognition.

"Tsuki! Are you doing okay there?" Hazel called out to her.

The lighter-colored female sighed. The _Yi qi_ on her back relaxed a bit too; slowing drawing themselves out from behind her plates. "Hazel! I'm glad you're alive. How did you handle those fast biters? There's not even a scratch on you!"

She waved dismissively. "More on that later. Right now, we've got to get you out."

Hazel turned her attention back to her rescue group. Her face filled with determination. This was not the first time she helped with a rescue that involved a mud trap. The last time was when she first traveled back to the Jurassic in search of an Allosaurus. That _Allosaurus_ , Alyssa, had been stuck in the mud for a few days. She was malnourished, and being in water with all sorts of bacteria, she was gravely ill.

The human and her flying companion met these _Stegosaurus_ not long ago. They were a traveling mated pair that was going off to find greener plains after theirs dried up. The _Yi qi_ that was with them were a traveling group that opted to stay with them due to the bugs that flitted about them. None of the little bird dinosaurs spoke to the two travelers due to their shyness.

This situation was dire. Tsuki had gone into the pond to get herself refreshed from the long journey. What she did not anticipate was that the pond was surrounded by a series of quicksand traps. Due to her immense weight and carelessness, Tsuki got herself stuck. Unlike Alyssa, whom Hazel and her friends successfully rescued months ago, she was only stuck there for several minutes.

Before Hazel and Flia could inquire more on their situation, they were stalked by a pack of _Dilophosaurus_. This pack, which was the same one that Hazel managed to rescue from the incoming flames, viewed Tsuki as an easy kill. Conan came in to defend his mate and the _Yi qi_ , but the carnivores proved to be too quick for his attacks. It was when Hazel stepped in by getting their attention, thus leading up to the chase.

The flames in the forest grew larger; almost as big as the trees themselves. The crackling of the wood along with the roar of the fire filled their ears. The screams of the other denizens within resonated in the air. The heat of the fire barely touched their skin like miniscule fire ants. Smoke infuriated their nostrils.

The fire nearly encompassed the pond. Though it would not be able to spread into the clearing, anything inside it would eventually suffocate under the immense cloud of carbon dioxide. They haven't got much time left.

Hazel shouted to the lot of them, making sure they could hear her over the fire. "Okay guys! I want you to work on getting Tsuki out! Remember those chains that you guys questioned on having and yet your senior associates said otherwise?" the other keepers nodded uncertainly. "Use them! They're needed for something like this! The forest fire may not reach this place easily, but we'll eventually suffocate under a blanket of smoke if we don't hurry!"

No one countered those orders. All of them nodded in understanding.

Conan walked up to her. His eyes that once had shame were now filled with that same resolve she had. "Kid, I mistook these guys as pests rather than your friends. My mate is in trouble and so are those little 'fuzzballs'. I want to make up for it. Think you can overlook my mistake and allow me to help?"

"Of course!" she smirked. "We'll need all the help we can get."

He too smiled.

"Alright, let's get moving," she looked back at the other novices. They began to congregate towards the shore, where Tsuki and the _Yi qi_ were. "I want three chains lassoed around her!" she said waving an arm out in command.

The next few minutes proceeded on with little distraction. The storm above did nothing to stop the team of humans and their prehistoric companions from working to get the quicksand victims out. If anything, the flash of lightning provided some extra light, if only briefly and the crash of thunder only motivated them to go faster. Hazel directed Tsuki to try to get one foot out so that she could place it on a large palm she found lying about. It was placed there with the help of Flia. The leaf was not decayed yet and it still held its green appearance despite being away from its mother plant. It was also large enough to accommodate the herbivore's foot shape.

The other humans looped three chains that were hooked together around her front, towards the first few plates. The _Yi qi_ backed away, so the chains would not hit them. Then, the _Stegosaurus_ did the same on the other foot, albeit with more difficulty due to putting so much pressure on it from the first leg. The chains also looped successfully on that side. The foot on the next leaf Flia placed sunk into the mud, but it did not become as stuck thanks to the tiny platform. Both of Tsuki's legs were coated in mud, but now they were atop large leaves that would serve as miniscule protection from getting further stuck.

A few more palms were placed in a consecutive path in front of her so that she would use them as platforms towards the shore.

Now all that was left was to get Conan into the mix. One of the chains was wrapped around him the same way. It was a bit tight for the Stegosaurus, but he quickly adjusted to the binding as it was necessary to get his mate out.

The rescue began as soon as everyone was in position. Three of the novices, including the young man named Ryder, were in the leftmost chain, with Flia grabbing onto the end with her talons as she was in the air. Chris, Ellis, Daisy, and Hazel herself were in the middle. Conan was in the last one. Their combined efforts pulled the chains taut, but with progress. Tsuki's body gradually pulled itself out of the mud inch by inch. The female plated giant laughed as she watched herself get freed. But that was not without her helping too. She wormed her front feet out and placed them onto the next to leaves before her. They too sunk into the mud with a gurgling squish.

Hazel was happy that the plan was progressing well, but Tsuki's back legs were still stuck. And the fire was getting closer to them. They won't be able to get Tsuki out in time before they would all suffocate.

" _It's not enough!"_ she screamed in her thoughts.

Then, Hazel remembered something. Sometime after her first arrival in Prehistoric Park, she had watched Nigel's rescues of the previous Residents. The cameramen were very diligent in recording each one of his exploits. One of which involved the rescue of the Carboniferous bugs from a wildfire that scorched their swamp home. The time period was filled with so much oxygen that a single spark would light up a whole forest. During his mission, Nigel's jeep had gotten stuck in the mud. He needed some way to get the jeep out before he too became barbecued.

Which gave Hazel an idea.

She abandoned her post and ran to the forest edge. The other members of the team yelled for her to come back. The bull Stegosaurus and the Pteranodon eyed her in confusion. They all watched as she brought out her time poles, set them up, and activated the Time Portal. A shimmer of light erupted, and a rippling wormhole appeared. Those that had not seen the Time Portal before merely gawked in awe.

Hazel turned back to them quickly. "You guys keep at it! I'll be right back!"

She disappeared into the wormhole, ripples spreading out to the edges like an otherworldly pond.

Chris, who was the most vocal, shouted his complaint. "Seriously!? Again!? What the hell is wrong with this girl!? Is she intending to leave us behind!?"

"Just do as she says and keep pulling!" Flia ordered the rest of them.

Minutes passed without much progress. Tsuki still remained stuck, but her back legs were leaning towards the shore. The fires in the back had already encompassed around the pond. The smell of smoke and burning wood were stronger than before. The yells and cries of effort now included coughs. Their skin was nearly being kissed by the fire.

Everyone was just about ready to give up. Their muscles ached and their backs burned. The smoke in the air burned their lungs. Those that were terrestrial bound were just about ready to collapse from lack of proper oxygen.

That was, until a ray of hope appeared.

Hazel charged out of the portal. A thick cable and hook were in her hands. She bolted down to the shore. Quickly rounding the chains together, she wrapped the cable around them and secured the three with the hook in a knot. The last thing she did was pull the cable taut twice.

"Come on everyone! Pull!"

Everyone complied. The combined efforts and battle cries overpowered the screams of the fire. And it did not take very long for their work to finally pay off.

The muddy earth relented the hold on its prisoner. Tsuki's legs finally felt air again. The mud sloshed and plopped as the Jurassic giant hustled over the palms onto shore. The grey armor female gasped and panted. Her body was now free of the trap.

There was no time to celebrate though. The blaze had reached its peak. Conan was about to go and embrace his mate until the large flyer near him stopped him.

"Conan, we need to get out of here!"

"She's right!" Hazel agreed. "Everyone, get to the portal! Let's go before we become Prehistoric filets!"

The huge group pulled the tired female towards the light. Though tired, she complied. The _Yi qi_ that were on her clung on tightly as their ride lumbered on. One by one, the rescuers rushed into the odd vertical time pool. No one needed to look back to see that the scenery had changed.

Hazel felt the familiar feel of the portal around her body. To her, it was like going through a still pond for a swim. Only, she did not get wet. Her skin tickled from the sensation of the portal radiation around her. The feeling was brief; one second, she was in the Jurassic period in the middle of a burning forest, and the next, she was back in the 21st century.

The group rushed up near the Holding Pens. Once Tsuki and her little wards were finally through, the portal closed behind them. The heat of the blaze in the Jurassic disappeared. Now all that anyone could see was one part of a lush green valley surrounded by mountains. The air around them was not scorching; it was hot, but at a much better level.

Conan quickly rushed up to his mate. The two of them embraced each other; happy to have escaped a terrible fate. They were alive, and they were together. The _Yi qi_ on Tsuki's back cheered; their voices lacked the southern tones of the _Stegosaurus_ but had a bit of a refined air to them. It was surprising considering that their line is from Asia rather than the United States.

The other keepers that were present gathered around the rescue team. All of them congratulated them on a job well done. The _Stegosaurus_ and the _Yi qi_ were led away by a team of vets towards the infirmary. While they did not appear to have any major injuries, the vets did not want to take a chance by not giving them a full check-up. Conan was covered in minor bruises due to the scuffle he had with the rescue team on the misunderstanding. Tsuki and the _Yi qi_ may have been exposed to some harmful substances while they were exposed to the quicksand. It was a small chance, but it was better than not checking.

After Flia commended her on her performance in the field and flew off to get some rest in the Valley Plains, Hazel took the time to observe the homecoming event. She watched as the team received congratulatory remarks. They all received pats on the back and uplifting words. The lot of them laughed and retold their adventure. Well, that was until one of them mentioned Ryder messing up when he shot Conan by accident. A few glares and scolding were what he got before he was led away by a fellow employee back to his room for a shower plus a change of clothes.

The woman sighed. They all had a lot to learn. Moving over to the front of the Holding Pens, she met up with a certain _Brachiosaurus_ that was being helped by Julie, Marcus' assistant in the engineering department. She just removed the cloth shackle on the elder sauropod's ankle when Hazel went up to her. The immense titan smiled happily with the approach of one of her dear friends.

"Hey Baylene. Thanks for the assist. This mission would have never been accomplished without you."

"Ah, you are most welcome, Hazel," Baylene replied warmly.

It was by luck that Hazel found Baylene. When she arrived back in Prehistoric Park, she was yelling at the other keepers for the whereabouts of any other Resident passing by. None of them knew what to tell her as they did not see any Resident pass by recently. Hazel was about to go for the nearest ATV and drive off to find a potential candidate when she heard some rumbling come towards her. Coming to her was Baylene, who was passing by to get some water in the waterway that snaked around the park. The woman approached her and asked her for a favor. Baylene was not busy at all and jumped at the opportunity to help in a mission.

It was her first rescue mission and one that she accepted wholeheartedly. In no time at all, an ankle strap was put on her and the hooked cable prepared. Hazel ran back to the Jurassic period and proceeded with the rescue with Baylene waiting for her signal.

"I was not doing anything anyway. I will be honest when I say that I feel warm and fuzzy on the inside," Baylene lightly chuckled.

"Hehe. I bet. By the way, Bob is going to have a cart full of some of our exotic fruits delivered to you. Where would you like us to drop it off?"

Baylene reared her head back in surprise. "Oh my! Hazel, you don't have to! This is merely something that was just a small task!"

Hazel swatted the air and playfully scoffed. "Psh-shaw! Don't be ridiculous! You're a hero on this mission! Not to mention it was your first one too. You deserve a reward!"

The _Brachiosaurus_ sighed, accepting the offer. Baylene was always one to give in easily to the insistence of her friends. Well…sometimes. "Oh, very well. You can tell Bob to have the food taken to Yin's abode. I plan to have some dinner with her and the others. I hope you don't mind, but may I share my prize with them?"

"Of course! They can have some!" Hazel beamed at her.

Without another word, the _Brachiosaurus_ walked away with a smile on her face. The Asian waved at her, happy to have called upon her when the mission was dire. She walked in the opposite direction, wanting to head over to the café to get some food.

The sun in the sky was already nearing the horizon. The subtle blues were gradually turning into a light orange. The clouds above were slowly becoming darker. Late afternoon was coming in. When she was in the Jurassic period, the thunderstorm looming above them hid any traces of the time of day. Now, seeing the condition of the sky and checking her phone, it was about 5:32. The date was March 22. She and her team had been in the Jurassic period for a little over 24 hours. That was a good record.

Hazel looked over to her right when she heard the sounds of laughter. She smiled when she saw Marcus and Suzanne talking to their trainees, Ellis and Daisy respectively. Though she did not interact with them as much, she did get to know them a little bit when they were in the Jurassic.

" _Theé mou_ (1)," Daisy breathed out, placing a hand on her chest to calm her beating heart. "That was...was..."

"Intense? Wild? Crazy? Over the top?" Ellis finished for her, suggesting some possible descriptions.

"All of them!" Daisy laughed. "I can't believe that everyone here would think of it as something so simple, as if this is nothing new!"

"That's because they've all gone through this sort of thing before," said the young engineer. "Well, a number of them. I guess going through these rescues is something they're used to since they're surrounded by animals that died off a long time ago."

"Spot on, little bro!" Marcus half slapped, half pat his sibling on the back. Ellis nearly keeled over at the sudden hit, grimacing. Though he regained his footing, his back was a bit sore for a few seconds. "While this is something that happens every now and then, it's still pretty cool to see."

The older woman with the darker hair tied in a ponytail huffed. "Says the man who freaked out when 200 or so dinosaurs came barreling out of a portal to escape a meteor strike almost two years ago."

"Okay that was a one-time thing!" Marcus snapped. "And I had my reasons to worry!"

"Um...Marcus?" Daisy asked, getting his attention. "Did you...go through some kind of a rescue too?"

"Sure did!" the head engineer grinned. "It was sometime last year when I was helping Hazel with rescuing Alyssa."

"Alyssa?" Ellis' eyes furrowed. "Which one is she again?"

"The female _Allosaurus_ we have," Suzanne pointed out.

"Oh right!"

The group of four went on talking about rescues of the past. Hazel softly smiled, happy to know that two of the people that she would work with more in the future were getting along smoothly in the park. They had been here for at least six months. Though they were still green when it came to experience, they were doing rather well in their new surroundings.

But, there was one that was left unaccounted for. Hazel's musings were cut off as soon as someone viciously pulled her aside. A gasp escaped her when she was brought around. An irritated Chris hissed under his breath. She failed to notice him sneak up behind her.

"What the hell were you thinking, Veran?"

"What?" she said with a lighthearted chuckle, trying to uplift the mood a bit.

"You asked a group of us for help on this mission," he started, pointing a finger at her chest, much to her annoyance. "Yet you didn't give us a full rundown of the situation. You said we were going out to rescue some group of prehistoric feathered dinos, but you neglected to tell us of the little detail on running into a rampaging _Stegosaurus_ or his trapped girlfriend!"

Hazel frowned, her brows furrowed at the outburst. "Hey getting a group of _Yi qi_ was the original plan, but those guys needed help. We were there at the perfect time so we couldn't turn a blind eye."

"That's fine and all, but you left us alone just as we saw you run off into the forest!"

"Didn't you see that pack of _Dilophosaurus_ that were coming at them!? I had to do something otherwise the rescue would have become more complicated! You guys and our rescues would have become a week-long feast had I not led them away!" she rebuked.

Chris face palmed. "You failed to mention that too. Oh wait, you ran off without giving us a head's up on the radio!"

"It conked out on me as soon as those guys started chasing me!" It was true. She could not tell her team her whereabouts due to her radio running out. Next time, she would need to make sure they were fully charged before leaving on a mission.

The young man groaned. "You also ditched us when we were getting that female out without telling us!"

"I was getting someone at the park to help," she replied simply despite the hot water she was in. "Thankfully, Baylene was in the vicinity and she didn't have much to do. She gladly took the opportunity and is now being handsomely rewarded with some exotic fruits from our stores."

Chris sighed and glared at her. She crossed her arms, putting on a stoic face to hide the anger that was building up.

"Where...pray tell...are these... _Dilophosaurus_ you speak of?" he said slowly, massaging his temples.

Hazel pointed a thumb behind her, specifically towards the Holding Pens. Looking over her shoulder, Chris saw a pack of five _Dilophosaurus_ through the wooden bars. The ten-foot-long brown crested carnivores were gorging on a cow carcass. Their growls and eating sounds resounded from that far away. Neither of them paid any mind to the small group of keepers, or the cameraman, that were observing them from the walkways above.

The zoologist trainee pointed a finger at her, giving her a scowl. "You almost killed us by the stupid miscommunication."

Chris walked off without another word. As Hazel watched him leave, she could not help but roll her eyes at him. Stupid Chris, why did he have to be so stuck-up all the time? He was always nitpicking every single detail she did in everything she does. And he was Bob's trainee, one of the people that were part of her "personal cabinet"? She's better think about a separate office space or look for something to keep him away from her for most of the day if he's ever going to take Bob's place.

Well, that was much later. Her taking over the park won't happen for years to come. She quickly brushed the brief argument off and went her own way. Perhaps some dinner will help her forget the whole event.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that evening…Nigel's Den

Marcus flexed his arms as he situated himself on the comfy office chair. The night air brought about a cool chill, something seldom felt in the month of March considering it was one of the warm months of the year. He would usually just wear a T-shirt and his usual work jeans during his job. However, he now had an orange hoodie with the Overwatch symbol on the back. The desk in front of him was cleared of the usual paper clutter. Nigel's office space was always a bit of an organized mess from what Marcus learned; he could sympathize because his was the same way, except with a lot more clutter.

The night was dark. The light of the lamps in Nigel's office along with the only bulb light in the ceiling were the only ones that offered illumination in the sleeping valley. The distant sounds of Residents sleeping occasionally reached his ears. The trees that surrounded the office plus the darkened night sky prevented him from seeing out into the rest of the park.

Having already tended to Tsuki and Conan's new enclosure (specifically the security generator), as well as seeing to it that the _Yi_ _qi_ were comfortable with the _Microraptor_ Guild, Marcus had made his way to Nigel's office for his final task of the night. The park leader had other matters to attend to that night, more specifically introducing the aspect of Prehistoric Park to the new Jurassic giants that he would be unable to handle tonight's Skype meeting, much to Marcus' chagrin since he was unprepared for this situation.

This was no ordinary Skype meeting though. This was a video conversation with the head of the South African Guardians of Endangered Species, otherwise known as the S.A.G.E.S. The secret organization was dedicated to using unconventional methods to protect animals, ranging from peaceful protests to disrupting poaching attempts through cybercrimes. Marcus always thought they were an odd group, as they would protect the environment using ways that were normally out of the norm. From his knowledge, Nigel would touch base on the park's status with the CEO of the organization to let them know how they were doing. Calls would be made every four months, so at a quarterly rate. Nigel did well to conceal the Park's secret with rescuing prehistoric creatures via time technology. All he had to do was just mention what they needed to hear. Plus, he would always have these meetings at night to reduce the risk of any Resident interrupting.

For everyone at Prehistoric Park, they would refer to the S.A.G.E.S. as the organization that supplies the park with all the supplies they need to keep the sanctuary running, ranging from funds, food, living essentials, emergency equipment, and everything needed to keep the Residents happy. In other words, they were the "big boss" that was the only reason why the park is still running now, besides the whole "selling Resident fecal matter to entrepreneurs without telling them where they came from".

Marcus never met anyone from that organization, but tonight was going to be his first. He was nervous; there was no doubt about it. He was about to talk to the head of the organization that supports the park! Nevertheless, he did his best to keep himself calm.

He logged onto Nigel's computer using the credentials he gave him. The wallpaper containing the Prehistoric Park logo rang to life. He did not waste any time looking over the rest of the applications he had on his screen, as he brought the mouse pointer over the Skype icon. Marcus quickly typed in the username and password.

"Okay…let's do this."

As soon as 7:45 hit, a separate calling screen popped up, along with the tune of the incoming Skype call.

"Geez…they're prompt," his eyes bulged at the sudden impeccable timing of the caller. Marcus inhaled and pressed the answer button.

The screen turned from black to showing a woman in her mid-30s wearing a dark suit. Behind her was a world map that was hanging in a golden intricate frame. The woman's brunette hair was tied into a bun. Her dark-rimmed rectangular glasses hung just above her nose. If anything, she looked just like any model in a magazine posing for the latest business trends. Her face was angular and her eyes were the darkest shade of gray. Her makeup was subtle too. One glance at her and anyone could mistake her for any ordinary employee in an office job. It was hard to believe that a woman that was about ten years Marcus' senior could lead such a large organization.

Seeing her now, he regretted putting on the Overwatch hoodie. He felt immensely underdressed for the occasion.

"Hello, this is Marcus Rey, the head of the Engineering department in Prehistoric Park. Is this Lorrie Rain?" he introduced as professional as he could.

"Um..yes. This is she," she straightened her glasses. The gaze she gave him equated to an eagle staring down a potential prey. "Is Nigel Marven there?"

Marcus gulped, trying to not let the analysis of the CEO get to him. "Sorry, ma'am. He's currently taking care of some important business here at the park and is unable to make it to tonight's call. He asked me to talk to you in his stead."

"I see. What sort of business is it that he should miss on this important meeting? And why couldn't his other colleagues do it? Suzanne and Bob would sometimes take it if he was unable to."

The head engineer balled a fist under the desk. He resisted the urge to show any sign of discomfort. _"He couldn't put me in there?"_ he complained in his thoughts. _"Am I not that important? Frigging plothole, he and I are going to have a word about this when this is done."_

"They are busy with preparing the accommodations of some of the new Residents in the park," Marcus quickly explained without revealing the identities of the new rescues. "One of them needed medical attention and the rest needed to be taken care of."

The engineer mused silently. He thought of the outcome of her reaction if she found out the Residents he was talking about were the _Stegosaurus_ couple, the _Dilophosaurus_ pack that sounds like they came straight from the Big Apple, and the _Yi qi_ troupe, whom he discovered the leader was named Wynndi per a brief conversation with her earlier. She would have fallen out of her seat in shock or just thought that he was speaking nonsense. Like that was ever going to happen, because he would never give the park's biggest secret away.

"I see…" Lorrie frowned at the alibi she was just given. "And what are these Residents?"

"I don't know," Marcus lied. A drop of sweat fell down his cheek. "I'm just in charge of Engineering and park security. I just got word we got some new additions, so I have no idea."

The CEO's eyes narrowed. He feared that she could see through his façade. He hoped that she would just drop it, considering that he was not in charge of overseeing the Residents but rather making sure things in Prehistoric Park went smoothly. If she kept pressing on wanting more answers, then he may just break under the pressure.

No, he couldn't let that happen. Not in a million years. He didn't want something like the events of ET to occur. All of the Residents put into a secret facility where they would be dissected and studied where they would be denied their freedom? Or worse, the whole park being revealed to the public would be disastrous! Tourists coming in every day, wanting to get up close and personal like it was a zoo! It would be like a Jurassic Park movie come to life!

"Hm...I suppose I can't exactly press further on the topic since the man I wished to speak with is not present."

Marcus inwardly sighed. Thank goodness she decided to drop it. He kept his professional appearance up while relaxing the tense muscles he had.

"Heh...sorry about that," he made a light chuckle. "Hey, if it's okay with you, Nigel is requesting to have a bit more land on the east coast to accommodate for the ever-growing roster. I don't know what his plans are, but I think he wants to rescue some aquatic animals."

Lorrie's brows furrowed. "Aquatic animals, you say? He seems a bit excited with expanding his park since he requested some more land further south of the sanctuary the last time we spoke."

She sighed and then nodded. "Very well, I'll grant him his request. He'll expect to have a letter of confirmation from me within a week's time."

The engineer smiled. "Great! Thanks! I'll tell him that."

Lorrie relaxed her features. The hard gaze she gave him lightened. "Good. I wanted to talk to him about the status of the park, but since he is not available, I will inquire about it another time. Have a good evening, Mr. Rey."

"I will," he nodded.

"And please…tell Nigel to be a bit more cordial with the timing. Also, you may want to pick a more appropriate outfit the next time you appear in front of someone of a higher position in the near future."

Marcus looked down at his sweatshirt. His face took on a deep shade of red when the CEO took note of his attire. The regret hit him again like an incoming truck on a highway. He knew he should have changed it but he had no time to since the call was quite prompt.

When he looked back up, he saw that the calling screen disappeared. Lorrie had ended the call. While he was glad she hung up, Marcus felt ashamed for not looking his best in front of her. He must seem like a kid in her eyes for not looking business appropriate. Then again, Nigel always wears his polos and loose vests. He's always informal to her. So why did she nitpick him?

" _Probably because he's the park's leader and I'm just an associate of his,"_ he mused.

The man leaned back into the office chair. The weight of having to perform that conversation alleviated from his shoulders. Now, his body felt a little bit lighter.

"Nigel better pay me extra for this," Marcus wiped the sweat from his face. It was not hot in the office, but the stress of the conversation did cause him to heat up a bit. "Speaking of which...he and I are going to have a word about updating his 'Contacts Database'."

Just then, the sound of banging on the floorboards brought his attention to the doorway into the office. Looking over, he saw his assistant Julie come in. Her usually tied up hair had loose strands falling out of the messy bun hairstyle from all that running. The woman's chest expanded and retracted, her body hunched over from running over to this place.

"Marcus," she breathed in gasps. "We've got a problem."

He sat up immediately. "What is it? Some Resident is upset about something?"

She shook her head. "No. Nigel needs some help with the 'Resident transfer', specifically our new carnivorous Residents."

"Oh," he relaxed a little. It was just park duty, nothing serious. "Why didn't you radio me about it?"

"Well, I didn't want to disturb you with your meeting. I didn't want to reveal anything 'classified' with her."

His eyes bugged in knowing. "Oh. Good point." Marcus got up and went over to the woman. "Lead the way."

The two left for the Holding Pens without another word. It was a good thing he told a team of engineers to get one of their blank enclosures prepared. As soon as he received word that Hazel once again brought back more than what she promised, he thought about using one of the unused enclosures prepared. Nigel and his protégé would always bring back Residents that were not in their agenda; something that usually happened here in Prehistoric Park.

Now they needed him to help with getting the _Dilophosaurus_ into their new home. He hoped they were reasonable enough to deal with.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

S.A.G.E.S headquarters…

Lorrie leaned back in her chair, her thoughts looming around the recent video chat she had.

Prehistoric Park. It was a place where endangered animals are looked after in the safety of human captivity. It was a sanctuary where small parts of the world's biodiversity could be protected from the stresses caused by human activity and the changing planet. The employees bring in endangered or rare species to be raised in hopes they would flourish again.

And yet, the name described a place that would contain something more ancient than creatures from the 21st century.

Lorrie got up, leaving the luxury of her ash wood office desk behind. Being the CEO of an organization brought her perks. A large number of vacation days, a large team to call upon for any errand, a large annual salary, all the equipment she needed to run a company, and a large office where she could work and hold small meetings. Across from the vast window showing distant African mountains overlooking a dry forest at night was an old-fashioned Victorian fireplace. Brown and green themed rococo-styled furniture decorated that part of the room. Hanging above the mantle was a portrait of the Angel Falls in Venezuela; the picture looked so realistic that anyone could mistake it for an actual picture rather than an oil painting.

The floor she walked upon was a dirt-hiding, no pile camouflage gray carpet. Her black high heels clomped on it with muffled steps. Lorrie made her way to a standalone board in front of her expansive window. A map of South Africa filled its space, along with related articles about the place; old reports, official information, a satellite image of their location, statistical inquiries, and a profile of Nigel covered parts of the map.

"Nigel, what on earth are you doing there?" she pondered while staring at her board. "You request for more than enough resources for your park, you ask for more land in a short period of time, and your need for more funds have skyrocketed within the past year. Are you sure you're really running a sanctuary for endangered species and not some kind of secret facility? What are you hiding?"

Two knocks on her double doors brought her attention away from her brooding. She made her way over and placed her hand on the golden doorknob. Upon opening it, she found herself looking at a Caucasian male wearing black pants and a white shirt under a blue jacket. In his hands were two mugs of steaming coffee.

"Ah. Jason. Thanks for bringing my coffee," she allowed him to come in.

"Not a problem," he stepped into the room. The door closed behind him. The man with the curly brown hair handed his superior the white mug in his hand. "I thought you may still be in that on-call meeting with that Nigel fellow. Seems to have ended earlier than expected."

Jason King was Lorrie's right-hand man. He was the vice-leader of the S.A.G.E.S. other than helping Lorrie with overseeing the activities of the organization; he was also in charge of making sure that work in the building ran smoothly. This included reporting any problems happening in the departments and stepping in as her proxy for meetings whenever she was unable to attend, among other things. Any problem that happens such as a problem in the departments such as disputes with corporate partners or funds incorrectly sent out, he would be the first to be notified if the problems are not resolved as easily. His job was demanding, having to work overtime on some days from 8 AM to around midnight, but his efforts would be rewarded with days off.

He was a good assistant. Lorrie would always call on him for advice as well on running the organization or dealing with corporate partners. Plus, he always brought her coffee every night when she works late.

"I wasn't exactly speaking to him," she took a sip of her highland grogg with half and half swirled in it. "Just a young associate he hired some time ago that was serving as his proxy."

Jason took a sip of his Columbian dark roast with two cubes of sugar. His eyebrows went up at the mention of someone other than Nigel. "Proxy?"

"The man was busy with important matters in his sanctuary. I guess his duties in his 'park' were far more important than having a chat with his superior."

The man shrugged. "So? Perhaps that business was so urgent that it needed his attention. Why are you obsessing over him and his sanctuary?" he looked over at the billboard on Prehistoric Park. "There doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. He's a busy guy to be the head of something that big."

Lorrie frowned, placing a finger on her chin in a puzzled manner. "Hm...then why did he choose a name like Prehistoric Park? Seems like an odd title for a sanctuary meant for endangered species."

The vice-leader chuckled as he took another sip of his coffee. "It's probably for some gimmicky theme. Maybe he's got some dinosaur statues around as decor while having endangered species that are direct descendants from prehistory. Or it could be like Russia's 'Pleistocene Park', which was made to bring the mammoth back through cloning. I doubt that would work since the public never got word about their status."

"Perhaps," she too took a sip of her drink, savoring the taste of the bitter yet creamy texture on her tongue. "Nigel is also using manure as fertilizer and selling it. While that's not unusual, the amounts they're selling exceed the number of animals that the park supposedly housed."

Jason gripped the handle on his mug. The smile disappeared to be replaced with an uneasy scrunch. "Well, now that you say that, it is pretty weird. How many Residents did Nigel mention he had the last time he contacted you?"

Lorrie shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "The last time I inquired about that was about a year and a half ago. I think it was a little over a hundred."

"And he didn't mention how many Residents he has now?"

"I was going to ask him that on today's meeting."

"How much of that manure does that park sell per month?" he asked next.

"Well," she thought for a moment while doing some quick math and memory work in her mind. "Calculating how much he sold in a year, it's about $1,500,000. Per month, it's $125,000. Per week, it's about $2,400. Then per day, they make about $340."

The S.A.G.E.S co-leader made an intriguing sound along with a nod. "Interesting. No ordinary park can make that much money, especially one that's in a secret location and doesn't have any tourism. Maybe he is hiding something. You think you should schedule another meeting with him? Or maybe go there yourself? This is something worth investigating."

Lorrie raised a hand. Jason was always into making radical ideas before rushing into things. She would always pull him back before executing any sort of action. Most of the time, his ideas were good ones, hence why she would consult him for advice.

"Now, now. Let's not be too hasty. Though I am suspicious about his activity, he is still following through with his contract. He runs a park meant to house endangered species so that we could protect some global biodiversity while we supply the funds and space he needs along with the salaries for all the employees. I don't want to falsely accuse him and his sanctuary when they've done nothing wrong."

He thought about it. It took a moment before he replied with an idea that caught her attention. He was always a fast thinker, which was something Lorrie admired about him. "How about this? Since you don't find it feasible to just go and check on him, why not send someone to investigate?"

Her face lit up in interest. "That's...actually not a bad idea. He is planning to expand his park southward and, as of my recent meeting with his associate, he wants to expand towards the ocean, maybe wanting to add an aquatic section to his sanctuary. No doubt the park will be undergoing renovations in the near future."

She made her way back to her desk. Placing the mug at the top right corner, she grabbed for the office phone on the opposite side. Putting the device next to her ear, she dialed a number that she had memorized a while back. A phone ringing echoed in the contraption for a few seconds. Then, the unmistakable sound of someone picking up the phone reached her ears.

" _Hello?"_ said the receiver on the other side. The man's voice was smooth and suave, like a gentleman from an earlier age.

"Agent Rimbauer? This is Lorrie Rain, head CEO of this organization," she introduced.

" _Oh!"_ the man exclaimed. Coughs and stammers escaped his throat before he found his voice again. _"Director Rain! It's a pleasure-"_

"Save the formalities for later," she cut to the chase. "I'd like to have a word with you in my office."

A series of mild crashes sounded off in the other line. Lorrie had to draw her head away to save her hearing from being lost. Using basic inference from being a business leader, she assumed that he had stumbled out of his desk due to the shock of the announcement.

" _Of course, ma'am! Um...might I ask what this is about? I didn't do anything wrong, did I? I haven't been tardy and already reported to my supervisor that the major Black Market associates in China have been shut down thanks to my intervention."_

She lightly chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "No, I already know of your accomplishment last month and am pleased on your performance. You've done nothing wrong. Your summons to my office is of a different manner. I will explain more upon your arrival."

" _Yes ma'am,"_ he replied promptly. _"I'll come right over."_

"Good," she nodded in satisfaction. "I'll expect to see you in the next 30 minutes."

Lorrie placed the phone back onto the dock. She then brought the cup back to her lips. The liquid quickly went down her throat within several seconds. Holding a meeting along with talking to both her associate and an agent she recently regarded for his impressive work in the field brought about a huge thirst. The coffee now finished, she handed the mug back to Jason, much to his surprise.

"Jason, I'm still a bit thirsty. Be a dear and fill me another cup, would you?"

 _ **Darksage: Whoo! What a ride! Looks like there's a lot of things that are going to happen coming up.**_

 _ **Marc: New characters you mean. Not to mention a little bit of insight into the S.A.G.E.S.**_

 _ **Darksage: Now a couple of things. First, the elephant in the room. Yes, Dilophosaurus were from the early Jurassic and the Yi qi were from China. Well we decided to tweak those details a bit so that they would appear in a time period and location close to where they lived. We're sorry for the inconvenience in scientific accuracy but it was necessary for the story. Second, just to clear up any confusion, this story took place right after the Christmas special. Chris, Ellis, and Daisy were not part of it because they were out of town for the holidays when the Christmas special took place. Third, the action sequences were all planned by Marc Ello. Thanks for coordinating them!**_

 _ **Marc: No problem!**_

 _ **Darksage: Last but not least, Ryder is a character created by Lucero002. We don't own that character. All rights to Ryder belong to him.**_

 _ **Marc: We hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one! It will be out soon**_ _ **.**_


	3. Mission Briefing

_**Really not much to say here, except for the disclaimer: We don't own Disney's Dinosaur, Prehistoric Park, Dinosaur Revolution, Walking with Dinosaurs, and Walking with Dinosaurs 2013. We also don't own the music or the locations. We only own the original characters. Enjoy!**_

 _ **Soundtrack: The Legend Begins by Audiomachine**_

Daniel exhaled, the tension in his body temporarily alleviated as he imagined calming thoughts. He straightened his blue office shirt to free it from any visible wrinkles, not that there were any to begin with. His sand-colored pants were free of any stains or pieces of lint.

He had heard stories of Director Rain. She was a ruthless dictator who would fire anyone for making a single mistake out in the field. She could spot a computer virus and track down the originators within five minutes. Or she could move from her office to the other side of a building in less than twenty minutes. Of course, most of the rumors he heard were highly exaggerated. In all hindsight, not many people have encountered the director herself.

Daniel never believed in exaggerations. He already knew that those rumors were made just to prevent anyone from messing up or to always have their guard up. But if there was one thing he knew about Director Rain, it was that the leader of the S.A.G.E.S was not to be taken lightly. That phone call he got from her 30 minutes ago asking him to meet her tonight proved it.

Over 30,000 people worked for the S.A.G.E.S, with branch headquarters spread out throughout the world. With this being the main headquarters, roughly about 10,000 are in this building. Out of all of these employees that she could call upon, Daniel was picked out of the roster to meet her.

Daniel was actually one of the special cases in this organization. He was born in Manila, Philippines as half Filipino and half American but later moved to New York a year later. He possessed his mother's Asian heritage, but overall looked like his father. Daniel was what most people would call a prodigy; he started taking middle school courses at the age of 10, he graduated high school at age 16, and got a bachelor's degree to be an FBI agent while attending his college's ROTC. It was not long before he got the S.A.G.E.S attention. It was in a circumstantial way; he was in a combat training exercise against a group of his classmates. Back in college, he studied jiu jitsu and karate. He was arguably one of the best fighters, third best in his class. His fighting spirit as well as tenacity intrigued his teachers that he had no idea that the heads of the S.A.G.E.S were watching nearby. When he was at a practice shooting range, they approached him; he missed a few targets when they broke his concentration but that did little to deter them.

They gave him the offer to work for them. Daniel may be outstanding in his class, but he knew he had a long way to go. He figured that working for this organization would get his foot in the door for his dream to be a special agent; in other words, prepare him for a future with the FBI. Sure enough, he joined early last year.

The young agent performed his job well. His first and main accomplishment had been infiltrating and terminating the Black Market branches in China; the native wildlife population would increase again in time thanks to him. He was competent in completing orders that were given to him. Sure he lost sleep and had stressful days. However, he always found himself back on his feet shortly.

Daniel may be serious when getting tasks done, but anyone who has acquainted with the young man would be met by a gentleman mature for his age. He would ask a lot of questions either to sate his curiosity or to get details on a specific topic; a skill that came in handy when going undercover outside. He never wavered in his loyalty to his superiors, especially the organization. But most of all, he never went against anyone's judgement.

Daniel knocked on the door twice. A woman's command from the other side told him to come in.

He turned one of the knobs and entered.

"Ah, Agent Rimbauer. Come in," the woman at the very end of the room greeted. She quickly brought the files together on her desk into a neat pile

"Good evening, Director Rain," Daniel greeted, quickly coming into the room after closing the door behind him.

"You arrived at exactly one minute before the cutoff time. As expected, you've arrived on time," she remarked.

"I do my best," the young agent replied.

Daniel quickly took note of his surroundings. Even though he had been in the organization for about a year, he had never been to his superior's office before. For being the head of the organization as well as the forerunner of global environmental preservation, Director Rain had class in her décor. The Victorian-esque furniture and the burning fire in the hearth brought about a warmness to the room. If this weren't an office or the fact that the large bay window overlooked an African landscape, he would have mistaken it as something out of a Charles Dickens story.

As expected, Director Rain sat at her desk, with her right-hand man Jason standing next to her. Daniel found the rococo-cushioned chair in front of her and took his place. He shifted his legs a little to get comfortable before giving her his undivided attention.

She gestured to a black mug on the top left corner of her desk. "Coffee?"

Daniel kindly declined. "No thank you. I've had enough for today."

"Alright then," she folded her hands close to her chin. "So, I can tell you are wondering about why I called you here."

"Yes actually. What's the situation?"

"It concerns a certain patron I've been working with for several years. Tell me, do you know of a man named Nigel Marven?"

The Filipino thought for a moment. He had heard of him before, but not too much. Nigel Marven was a world-renowned zoologist and expert paleontologist. The only reasons why he knew of him was from a few National Geographic magazines he read years ago. He also heard that he held lectures as well as TED Talks around the world, but then he fell off the grid later on. The last conference he attended, according to his knowledge, was at least six years ago when he held a lecture about the different theories that caused the death of the dinosaurs, especially some new evidence that supported the asteroid hitting the earth. He couldn't remember much of what the specifics were. The video was pretty old.

"Yes. I know of him. Not a lot, but enough to know that he's got quite a reputation in the scientific community."

Suddenly, his eyes went wide.

"Wait, are you saying that you're working with him? You know what's happened to him these past three years?" he inquired.

Director Rain's eyes lit up with satisfaction. "You catch on quickly. Nigel Marven is purposely keeping a low profile for a good reason."

Daniel's eyes narrowed. Curiosity got the better of him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that he has taken it upon himself to run a hidden sanctuary for endangered species, supported by us," she simply explained.

He leaned back in his seat; his features took on understanding. "Ah, he's staying off the public eye so he can run a facility at your request?"

His superior was about to speak but was then beaten to it by her own assistant. She fell silent as she let him continue. "Actually, it was his idea. Well, to be more precise, it was his and his colleague's idea."

"Several years ago," Lorrie began. "Nigel Marven along with Jacob Veran, an associate and close friend of his, came to us with an idea that interested us. I'll spare you the details on how they discovered us. The two of them were old friends of mine back in my college days. They came to me asking to join in the effort to help preserve and save our planet's unique biodiversity. With the rise of human exploitation on the planet's most valuable ecosystems along with the near daily disappearance of more of Earth's rare species, I was interested in what they had to say. The both of them wanted to open a sanctuary dedicated to raising and preserving Earth's endangered species, hopefully to give them a chance to flourish again while we worked towards our goal to suppress and eliminate harmful human activities to the planet."

"Needless to say," she continued. "I approved of their request. We picked an adequate location for their facility, with their approval, of course. The location of the facility is hours away from the nearest town and is quite close to the ocean. Not surprisingly, the location is classified. Only those who have knowledge of its location in this organization know of it and access to that place is restricted."

"So Nigel has gone off the grid because he wanted to run a sanctuary away from prying eyes," Daniel reiterated as best as he could. "Do we have updates on his activity?"

The woman then placed a hand on the manila-colored folder in front of her. She pushed it towards him, which he held onto with his right hand.

"Here," she said, releasing her hold. "This folder contains every known file related to Nigel and his sanctuary."

Daniel opened the flap. Inside were various papers and files related to this Prehistoric Park. Why would a man call a sanctuary that name? Was it supposed to be a recreation park with dinosaur animatronics? If so, why would this be a secret from the public?

More questions arose as he scanned each file. He glanced over salary ranges, papers depicting the current size of the park and what appeared to be plans to expand southward, profiles of a bald man named William "Bob" Arthur, a woman in what appeared to be her forties named Suzanne McNabb, a younger man who looked to be Asian himself named Marcus Rey, the park creator Nigel Marven himself, as well as the last individual that Director Rain mentioned to be Jacob Veran.

Each one of the files had qualities that exemplified their profession, as well as where they came from, their birthdays, the dates they were enlisted, education, and other things. He also found what appeared to be the marked location of the park in a satellite map of South Africa. A red circle encompassed a valley several miles north of Johannesburg. The nearest towns were separated by those mountains and were miles away from the location too. So much green was in those mountains. It looked like a good place to keep several animals in a protected sanction.

Another thing that intrigued him was the salaries for the employees. This was shown in a business curve. While it looked static for the past year and a half, there was one period of time where the average went down a bit. Perhaps there were some money issues that time? Then it seemed to increase back to its regular state. From the salaries he was looking at, it looked like the employees were being paid $20 to $50 an hour. For employees at a sanctuary that was like a zoo, they're being paid pretty high. Daniel did not know much about zoo salaries, but even he thought that was over the average.

The other thing he noticed was one particular profile in the folder, specifically of Nigel's friend and co-founder. Jacob Veran; his hometown was in Sarasota, Florida, married to Beth Silva Veran, has two daughters named Hazel and Hanna Veran, he worked with Nigel in working to develop a sanctuary meant to house endangered species where they would be protected, and other information that seemed minor to him. However, something did catch his eye. He peered closer at a particular detail on the profile. In his inspection, he said the detail out loud to his superiors.

"Jacob Veran. Born on May 16, 1975 in Cebu, Philippines. Died on June 30, 2010 100 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Cause of death was due to an unprecedented tropical storm," he let the paper fall gently onto the folder pile before looking back at his superiors. "So one of the founders died."

"Supposedly," the director added. "We never could find a body. When Nigel told us the news of Jacob's disappearance, I sent a team out to find and recover his remains out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. We arrived at the location where he last made a call to the Coast Guard, but all we found was a ship at the bottom of the seafloor. We found the bodies of the others on board, but Jacob was nowhere to be found. The best assumption we could make was his body was swept deeper in. Mounting an expedition for the remains became irrelevant as..."nature" would have most likely done its work."

"You're not leaving out any details on this?" Daniel smirked in a joking manner. With this dark undertone coming about the room, he wanted to at least try to uplift the mood that was setting. Unfortunately, Director Rain was having none of it as she went straight back to the topic.

"That was the last time we heard of Jacob. Anyway, Nigel now runs that sanctuary, where his associate could not see his part of the dream fulfilled."

"So why call me here?" he inquired.

"With Nigel now running this...Prehistoric Park, their activity seems to have increased over the years. We provide for the needs of the Residents he has there. Now the park is demanding more and more every few months," she pressed on the matter.

"Well he may just be bringing in more animals to the facility," the young agent inferenced. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"That may be," she retrieved some papers from within her drawer. He gently gripped them and scanned over the contents. They were statistics no doubt; marginal curves and plots were dotted all over. After looking over a few of them, he saw that they related to something about a manure business. The marginal curves depicted months, the amount of manure sold, and the increase in profit over a one year margin. "Specific types of animals can create a certain amount of waste each day. Farmers or any sustainable facility can sell animal waste for fertilizer at a certain price. The normal zoo can make about $18,000 to about $26,000 annually when selling fertilizer. In Prehistoric Park, as you can see, can make over a million dollars in a year, and that's just from the last recorded log on their last shipment last month."

"Nigel must have a LOT of animals in his park to make this much waste," he commented before placing the papers in front of him on the desk.

"Too many?" vice-director King cocked a brow. "Or maybe…too big? We don't know."

"And that's not all," Director Rain went further on her testimony. "Nigel plans to expand his park southward."

"Right," the young man nodded. "I saw that in the files."

The organization's lieutenant cleared his throat to relieve the dryness. "He probably has too many animals in his facility."

"From my previous conversation with one of his associates, Nigel was too busy to conduct the quarterly video chat meeting with me. That's something he should not neglect. Sometimes, I would be talking to his two other associates, Suzanne McNabb and William Arthur, as you have probably noticed their profiles I gave you. This time, it was a young man that we've found to be Marcus Rey, the head engineer of his facility."

"What's so suspicious about him?" Daniel asked. "I mean, I get the part where Nigel neglected to have that meeting with you, but why?"

Director Rain grabbed her white mug and took a sip of her evening coffee before placing it back down to continue talking. "I was told that Nigel had recently rescued some more 'Residents' for his park and could not meet with me due to him taking care of those animals. This engineer could not supply the identities of these creatures because the information of this rescue just got to him."

The agent frowned. The head of the park missing out on meeting with the organization that was funding for their needs was not very clear. Why would he consider his animals to be more important than a meeting? And Marcus Rey? How could he not know what Residents his manager was bringing in? He would have to be really stupid or thick in the brain to miss out on details like that. As one of the heads of the departments in Prehistoric Park, he is inclined to know what his manager's plans are. Or maybe…he already knew what they were and could not afford to tell the director about it.

The more Daniel thought about it, the more he started to think that the park really was hiding something. Perhaps this Prehistoric Park was some kind of a cover-up for something illegal. Or it was a secret facility meant to do experiments on those animals. The possibilities were endless. Either way, this was something that needed some investigation.

"Perhaps this Marcus is a suspect in a conspiracy?" Daniel suggested.

"We think Nigel may be hiding something," the director said, confirming his suspicions. "I've asked him countless times on what animals he has rescued. He told me the usual; elephants, birds, crocodiles, big cats, primates, other rare mammals, some bugs, and several reptile species. He just never specified what they were."

"Which is where you come in," her assistant chimed in, quickly gesturing a hand at him. "We want you to go there, undercover as a new employee, and look into it. No backup whatsoever."

Daniel gawked at the two leaders. Him? Go there alone? This was something he had never done before. The trip to China was a mission where he had his trainer/supervisor along with two other seasoned agents was his first big mission. Now he was being expected to go about this alone? They seemed to be rushing his development by putting him into a situation that was meant for a seasoned agent. He was only a novice, but one that exceeded everyone's expectations.

"Wait, you want ME," a brow twitched and he placed a hand on his chest, "to go there? You're giving me a task this big!? Are you sure I am up to it?"

"Yes," the intimidating woman gave him an unchanged gaze despite his surprise. "Your actions in the field in China were quite exceptional. Going undercover and terminating the Black Market branches, and especially at your age, is no easy feat. Therefore, I've decided to send you on this mission. And from my perspective, this seems trifling compared to your last assignment."

He breathed a sigh. A big assignment such as this, especially one where he had to go alone, was enough to send adrenaline through his body. Several months into this job and he already impressed the leaders. They expect much out of him. It's a huge responsibility, especially since he's trying to build his resume so he can move up in the government defense.

At the same time, he felt excited. Since his first assignment, Daniel felt enjoyment in going out of the organization. It was his way of seeing the world and getting the thrill of life. Though that meant putting his life on the line at times; something that intense training prepared him for. Plus, the superiors in his department were extreme sticklers so going out was another way for him to get away from them.

"To be called upon to investigate into a hidden sanctuary by myself at your behest?" he bowed his head slightly in respect. "I am deeply honored. I won't fail you. But, why call on me?" he asked them. "Why not go there yourself?"

Director Rain cleared her throat, as if to emphasize a point. "If I go there, then that would strain relations between this organization and Nigel and his facility. We don't want to create any unnecessary tension unless we have evidence to prove he is hiding something."

"I see. Thank you for clarifying."

She smirked, impressed by his gentlemanly response. Her reaction unnerved Daniel a little. This woman, from what he knew of her, did not seem like the type to smile. She was the type of person that preferred to go straight to the point while keeping a straight face. Showing facial reactions in the positive nature would put anyone off guard. Her strict deposition, her prompt way of speaking, the way she dressed, how she always furrowed her brows, it was like she could crack a whip at any moment.

Nevertheless, Daniel kept his cool. He was taught to not let anyone's attitudes or scrutinizing affect him. Keeping a straight face in something like this was important in making a good impression.

"Very good," she then handed him another set of papers that looked like enrollment documents. "Now then, we can easily get you into their staff roster, but we'll need you to fill out some application documents. They'll be listed under a different company, but that's not the important part. You don't have to be perfect, but you just need to put in what they need to see. Then, we can put you in without you having to go through the interview process."

"Which saves a lot of time," her assistant added. "Considering that they've stopped looking for more applicants a few months ago."

Daniel raised a brow in surprise. "This place has a website?"

His boss shook her head. "No. Nigel has an interesting way of getting new recruits. He looks over the job databases as well as some confidential records of other international facilities for potential employees and calls on them. Don't ask us how's he's done it, but he is efficient getting new staff members this way."

"Just fill out these forms from the Central Park Zoo, adjust your resume a bit, and you'll be golden," said vice-director King.

Daniel looked over the papers again. They were indeed application papers, however, rather than having a logo that said "Prehistoric Park", they listed the black and white Arial bold logo of the Central Park Zoo. The black shadow of a hippopotamus walked over the "a", "l", and "p" letters. The borders were decorated too, having leaf designs all over the edges as if it were made for some child's assignment.

The requirements in the pages were typical; name, date, address, special skills, name of previous employer, and all other requirements for an application. From what he was looking at, this application is just to put his information down. Of course, that was the instruction. Nigel would be looking for someone to fit a certain field. He seems to be picky if he was only looking at certain individuals. Maybe they were people who were thinking of leaving their jobs or were about to get laid off? Or maybe they were trying to get into those other organizations? Whatever the case, he needed to fit the part for this application.

Filling these papers out should not be much of a problem. He may have to lie a bit, but his superiors did say he did not have to be perfect. Espionage work does require a bit of fibbing every now and then. Completing this part of the assignment would take little more than a day or two, including putting together an efficient resume. This left one other unfulfilled question…

"What am I going in as?"

"You'll be going in as a rookie keeper," Director Rain replied. "You'll be in charge of looking after the animals in his facility along with the rest of the staff. Once you are in the park and have seen the Residents, don't proceed to rat Nigel out."

A keeper. That was the perfect job to do some investigation work. He would be up close and personal with whatever animals Nigel has in his sanctuary. He could easily document notes and maybe take some video recordings without having to do much discreet work. He may need to do some hard labor, but that was something minor he could deal with.

"Will I be accompanied by anyone else?" Daniel asked. "Does anyone else know about this?"

She shook her head. "No. You'll be going alone. This information is strictly between the three of us."

"I see. Why does he call this place 'Prehistoric Park'?"

"We're not sure either."

The vice-director shrugged his shoulders and took a step forward. A hand gripped the top right corner of Director Rain's desk. "It could be because he's had a fascination for prehistory that he wanted to dedicate his park to it while complying with the contract he signed. But that's part of the reason why we want you to check it out."

He nodded in understanding. "Alright then. Is there anything else I need to know regarding my assignment?"

"Yes," said the black-clad woman. "As mentioned before, once you see the Residents, don't immediately expose yourself to Nigel or anyone else. Revealing your true intentions will not only jeopardize your mission, but it will also strain relations between the Park, and by extent Nigel and the organization. Observe them. Note them. Do anything you can to record them and then send what you found to me. If Nigel does any suspicious activity while you are there, I only want you to stake him out."

"Got it."

"Do not take any immediate action without my approval," she said, grabbing a pen on her desk and pointing it at him. In Daniel's mind, he viewed it as a sort of sword from a demanding general. "Disobey this order and you will be terminated from the mission."

Daniel stiffened and gulped quietly. His hand quivered on his lap. This was the first time Director Rain went strict towards him. When he first met her, she approached him in a slightly content, yet analytical way. And that was back when he was still in college. He also heard stories about what she would do to subordinates who did not fulfill their jobs efficiently; none of them were good.

He never went against an officer's orders and he was not going to start now. Daniel gripped his quivering hand to prevent anyone from seeing.

"Understood," he answered.

"And one more thing," she leaned forward like a hawk would on inspecting prey. "This is just a tip from me, but I'm sure you already know it."

Daniel shifted in his seat a little. What were mere moments passing by felt like several minutes. He awaited her response on whatever tip she has on this mission.

"Don't go about getting too close to anybody there. If you can get information regarding Nigel from them, then great. But making relations can either prove advantageous to your goal...or be detrimental."

"Not a problem," said Daniel. "I'm already aware of the risks."

His heart panged a little, despite the smile he made on his exterior. Gut-wrenching memories from his past came back to him like an ominous wave. That advice she gave him was redundant in his sense. He already knew not to do that. He learned it the hard way back in college. Black hair, a sweet face, a receding form into an airport gate, and a letter flashed in his mind.

" _I'm sorry,"_ a man told him in the middle of a gym.

Daniel blinked away the tears. Those were horrible memories. That was then and this was the present. Those memories hindered him. He would always suppress them by doing some physical training in the gym, yet they would always find a way back to his conscience. It was like a mosquito coming back for more blood.

No, he can't let them drag him down. Not now, not ever. This was now. There was no point in looking back.

"Good," the director brought him back to the present.

He cleared his throat, readjusting himself to the current situation. "Does this assignment have a sort of deadline?"

She shook her head again. "No. You're there for as long as you need to in order to get the proper information. In addition, once we've seen enough evidence, we'll pull you back."

"What will happen then?"

"If Nigel is true to his word on the contract and is just rescuing species to protect them from human exploitation, then all suspicions will be moot. It's as simple as that."

The young agent's eyes narrowed. Director Rain was not a person to let something suspicious go lightly. There had to be another detail to this. She is not exactly the merciful type.

"You sound like he may be hiding something else," he brought up.

"That's why you're going there," she said. Ah, there it is. The dramatic entry of that was intimidating, and yet it felt unnecessary to him. "If Nigel is doing something not up to code with our standards...or is hiding something without our knowledge, whatever it may be, then he'll be suspended from his job for concealing illegal assets and his facility will be under our custody. Anything unknown there will be thoroughly studied. It's best to use your imagination on that."

Daniel stifled a shiver. He dared not imagine what sort of punishments she had in store for an old colleague. So his success as well as his discovery in this assignment would determine the livelihood of everyone in that sanctuary. The employees would probably be taken in for questioning. The sanctuary would be shut down. The animals would either be taken to more amiable facilities or studied in highly secure locations. But…these were just animals…right? So why was she being so suspicious about it?

"Duly noted," he gulped.

The stiff woman leaned back into her chair, her muscles relaxing. "That will be all. I expect your applications to be done within the next three days."

Daniel gathered all of the papers into a neat pile and got up. He respectfully bowed to the both of them. "Thank you for your time. I'll have these done as soon as possible. Until then," he waved a hand and briskly retreated. "Goodnight to both of you."

He quickly left through the elaborate wooden double doors. A huge heave left his chest. Being in that room with that woman was certainly nerve-wracking. He did not like being in her presence at all. She and her associate were watching him like lions to a lone gazelle in an African veldt. How could anyone stand being in their presence? Vice-director King was more relaxed but even he could quickly turn and do a fast one on anybody. At least they were not married or anything. That would be even weirder!

Regardless of what he went through, at least he got the full rundown on what he needed to do. This assignment was definitely not as straightforward as his first; a hidden sanctuary, a man well-known around the world for his contributions to the scientific community on paleontology as well as zoology, and a suspicious market curve on selling manure. Daniel would need to do some digging as well. How much manure were those other organizations getting from this place? Did they know anything about where the manure was coming from? Who did they talk to when creating this joint-partnership?

Daniel quickly left the vicinity, making his way towards the parking garage. The nearest town was about an hour away. Research can wait. His bed was calling him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day…Prehistoric Park

Hazel wiped her brow, freeing her forehead from the onslaught of the sweat drops accumulated from today. Her light blue athletic shirt as well as her shorts saved her from heating up by absorbing the perspiration; thank goodness for human ingenuity. And the shade from the leaves in the trees of the forest towards the _Microraptor_ AND _Yi Qi_ territory helped to keep her cool.

It was a hot day in Prehistoric Park. With the end of the hot season rolling in, the sun was giving off the last of the heat before the cool days come in. Nothing too special happened today, besides meeting her friends again and telling them of her recent adventure into the Jurassic as well as helping around the park. Flia had already given them the rundown of the story but reserved the rest of the details for Hazel to tell.

Her tasks today were nothing special. Nero was given a couple days off for good behavior so Bob and a few other employees needed help with cleaning up. It was disgusting, cleaning up after the Residents. Then again, this was not the first time she had to deal with being around dinosaur/mammal feces. Hazel had to suck up to it, but she did make a bit of a scene. Thankfully, the operating mask she got from the infirmary blocked out most of the stench.

Speaking of Nero, she had not seen him the whole day. Even when they went to the Herd Grounds, Hazel saw no sign of an emerald green _Iguanodon_. Some deep thinking brought her to the conclusion that he was uncomfortable with showing his face around the herd after what happened sometime last year. He did cause trouble around the park by nearly killing Aladar for leadership of the herd as well as help Diablo escape his enclosure, which caused the park's second breakout. It would make sense. She did not know whether the herd still had ill feelings towards him but that was a possibility. She did notice, however, that his hostility towards everyone around him was starting to mellow out, though he would always view everyone as annoying and do his best to shoo everyone away. The only time when he had no choice in the matter was when he was hauling the cart filled with the fecal matter that has been shoveled into garbage cans. Hazel hoped that he learned his lesson. Perhaps he could find some redemption in the near future and find his place with the herd again.

The next thing she did was give Tsuki and Conan, the new _Stegosaurus_ , a tour of the park, after taking a well-earned bath. This was something she was happy to do. Her muscles ached from shoveling scat all around the sanctuary. Bob allowed her to go early when she got the word that someone needed to give the Jurassic couple a tour. They did ask a lot of questions, which she was able to answer confidently. And their view on the valley was promising too; they were trying to find a new place to live after their own valley's resources dried out. Tsuki was doing better too. Suzanne had released her from the infirmary earlier that day due to the fact that she was "healthy as a horse". Conan was elated; he had stayed by his mate's side the whole night. He barely ate anything either. This tour of their new home was what they needed after a hard night.

Hazel then helped with feeding the Residents. With the park being so large, she opted to go with the group in charge of the carnivores, given that she would not go near Rascal or Diablo. It was a good thing they heeded her response. She did not want the day to be spoiled by their bad attitudes. The entertainment of feeding the _Allosaurus_ , _Tyrannosaurus_ _rex_ twins, Irwin and the other crocodiles, the new _Dilophosaurus_ pack, and the rest of the carnivores brought a sense of normalcy to the day.

Then, she got the text message. Nigel had requested he come over to his office for an urgent meeting. Puzzled, Hazel made her way over immediately. She wondered what the meeting was about. She couldn't have done something wrong on the job. She had gotten a lot of complementing remarks on her work ethics. Was it on her interactions with the other employees? She was pretty decent with them, but maybe it was on those three new recruits that she was going to work with in the future. Her stomach started to sink when she thought of them, especially that Chris Sinclair. She never got along with him. Maybe he wanted to talk to her about it? If so, she was in trouble. Nevertheless, she could not ignore his summons.

"Hey Hazel!"

Hazel stopped, making a quick back turn. Gliding towards her was a small dinosaur covered in white and brown feathers. A small fluff of red feathers adorned the top of the head and two red streaks lined passed the eyes. The legs were spread apart, showing off a line of feathers that lay parallel with the sky. The plume fan at the end of the tail looked more like a paddle than a set of feathers.

The girl held out an elbow, allowing the tiny creature to perch on her arm. She flinched as the tiny claws gripped onto her skin.

"Hey Breezy. What's up?"

"Oh, not much," replied the small _Microraptor_. Breezy was the leader of a tiny 4-member _Microraptor_ Guild in Prehistoric Park. Nigel and the rest of his rescue team rescued her group along with the Titanosaurs that now lived in the park a few years ago. He had taken a trip to prehistoric China to find her species due to having an interest in the idea of feathered dinosaurs. From what she was told, he had a hard time with the rescue, but managed to get Breezy's group out in time before a volcano erupted. And Yin's Flock was just a bonus; he had not expected to run into them. "I just finished making my way around the Park. You know, checking up on everyone. I caught some of the younger lemurs trying to sneak into the food storage to get some more fruit."

Hazel's eyes rolled. The food warehouse in the park housed so many food items for both employees and Residents, but every now and then, some of the Residents would break in just to get a few morsels. This had been going on for a few weeks, ever since a couple of the younglings in the valley discovered it. "Oh dear. How many and who was in it?"

"About ten or so," Breezy chirped. She then twitched the top of her eyes as if raising her brows in a suggestive manner. "Led by a _certain_ yellow lemur."

The human wanted to face palm. Of all the troublemakers to cause this, did it have to be one of her close friends? "Ugh…Zini. I don't know how Aya is able to put up with his antics. Did someone stop them?"

The _Microraptor_ nodded. "Oh yes. I alerted some nearby keepers. They quickly trapped them by closing the doors on them before they could escape. One of the keepers went to the Great Tree and alerted Yar and Plio. I'm sure you can think on what happened next."

"Yeah, I can," she huffed. That Zini was always getting into trouble. She imagined his adopted nephew, Aladar, giving him a mouthful at the end of the day. The wily primate was not evil, nor was he vile. He was just mischievous. He was respectful towards his friends, though sometimes he would say the wrong things or tick others off by doing something that was innocent but make it difficult for others, like that one time when he tricked one of the employees in wiping their face with whipped cream; a trick that was taught to him by a few of the other employees. Despite his faults, Zini had a heart of gold.

"Zini's in big trouble. You got any word on their punishment?"

"Hm…" the _Microraptor_ pondered, lifting her bird-like head to the clouds. "I think I did hear something about them tasked with babysitting some of the younglings in the valley, supervised of course."

"By who?"

"One of the wiser lemurs," Breezy replied. "Kuroki I think his name was?"

Hazel became transfixed on that name. She may be close to nearly everyone in the park, but not everybody. She did know of some of the other lemurs that were nearly as old as Yar, but wiser. Sure, she didn't spend a lot of time around them, but she was somewhat acquainted with them. In fact, they viewed her as one of the leaders of Prehistoric Park, even though she really was not.

She knew that Kuroki was one of the lemur elders. He was middle-aged, in terms of primate years. The park was still trying to determine the ancient lemurs' age rate. They did, however, determinate the age of one of the younger lemurs via a blood sample. It was about a few weeks ago when one of them caught a little fever. Suzanne took the liberty of taking a blood sample from them while treating the young one. They were able to determine the age to about a year old.

By the success rate the park was going at, it was only a matter of time before they had a full list on every single Resident's age.

"Okay," Hazel shrugged, happy to hear that those mischievous lemurs were going to be disciplined. "Well I hope they learn their lesson. Anything else that's new?"

Breezy cocked her head to the side. "Um...not really. But there is one thing I'd like to bring up."

"What's that?"

The _Microraptor_ leaned her muzzle closer until it was within a breadth's width to her ear. "Those new guys you brought in," she felt the tiny breaths kiss her ear. "The _Yi qis_? Send them back."

Hazel chuckled at her little friend's dampened comment. "What? What's wrong with them?"

Breezy held her wings close to her chest, the equivalent of a human doing the same thing. "Well my Guild and I can't operate with them around! They're so…ditzy and preppy and think they're all that!"

The human's narrowed. "Breezy…I paid a visit to them this morning. They didn't seem like that."

"Yeah around you! I saw some of the _Ornithomimus_ talk to them when they went to them. They were so into their conversation about favorite foods to eat that they didn't pay any attention to the day at all! I watched them, oh yes I did. They weren't paying any mind to Ornith calling them over for lunch! It's like they were transfixed to their conversation! They weren't paying any attention to their bodies."

The young recruit laughed. The _Microraptor_ inched away from the humored hairless ape at the complaint she made, viewing her as someone who had just gone crazy. Hazel could sympathize with Breezy that their voices were a bit sing-songy. But from what she was hearing from the tiny carnivore, she was annoyed by their presence. The jealous undertone that the glider gave off was a no-brainer.

"It sounds to me that you're just jealous."

The _Microraptor_ flapped her wings furiously. "Come on Hazel, please! Send them back to whence they came! They'll take over the courier business!"

Hazel's eyes rolled. "No."

"But-!"

"No!" she cut her off with a stern glare. "They're homeless and this park welcomes everyone."

"You can just send them to another time!"

Hazel brought her arm closer to her until she and the carnivore were a few inches from each other at eye level. "Breezy…I asked them if they liked this place and they said they did. Sending them back would be like us putting them out in the street. We're not cruel. Besides, if they wanted to go back, they would have said so by now."

And she knew she was right. The park was nor forcing its Residents to stay. They chose to stay willingly. Never in the history of this park's existence did any of the prehistoric Residents vie for release into their own time. The only Residents that were released were the modern day animals; cheetahs, lions, and endangered birds just to name a few. That was before Hazel's arrival and the invention of the communicators. She could not vouch for the decisions of the past Residents on their feelings of leaving since she was not present, but now the park was more equipped with determining everyone's opinions.

Prehistoric Park is a sanctuary where Residents are free to stay. If any of them wished to leave, they only need to voice it out. It would make a lot of individuals sad, but that was the way. Thinking of what ifs and depressing futures was not on Hazel's agenda. Brushing off the thought, she returned to the matter at hand.

"Just give them a chance," she told the uncomfortable _Microraptor_. "Rather than looking at the things you don't like about them, find some common ground. Get to know them a bit. Who knows, you guys might even become friends."

Breezy gasped before giving her an angry scowl.

"Trust me," she replied, unfazed by the negative look she was getting. "Right now, they need someone like that. They're in a new time and they don't really have anyone else to relate to. Instead of viewing them as competition, try viewing them as potential friends. And, if things go well, maybe they can help in your courier business. I'm sure Espantos would like some new helpers too."

The little carnivore snapped her gaze away, looking despondent. "You…make it sound so easy."

She spread her wings to prepare for takeoff but then looked at the recruit with interest. "By the way, I did notice one other thing today."

"What about?" Hazel put her free hand on her hip.

"It's on Aladar and Neera's herd."

Her mood changed from interested to heavily concerned. She had hoped that this situation would be resolved quickly. The herd in the valley had been acting restless and antsy. Some of them were losing sleep. Suzanne and the other vets would have at least five or more come to the infirmary every couple days about insomnia.

There were some reports that they were barely eating anything. The infirmary was pretty busy as of late that the vets would just go to the valley and build a white tent in the area to house the sick. Thankfully, they would be up and about within two or three days. Hazel always assumed it was a normal thing like humans getting sick every now and then. Even Suzanne and the other vets were starting to get a bit concerned too and they didn't know why they were acting this way.

Aladar and Neera were doing their best with helping with the situation. They tried to get answers from them, but all they would get would be that they were feeling restless for some apparent reason. The two alphas were getting tired with reassuring the herd of their restless problem, but even they had no idea how long they were going to keep this up. They've never had this problem before.

Hazel worried that this behavior would lead to major anxiety, or worse, sickness. No one in the park has been able to get a proper diagnosis. It was fortuitous that Nigel was calling her over. She wanted to talk to him about it. She did promise her friends that she would bring it up with the park leader.

"What's wrong?" her eyes narrowed.

"They're even more restless than before," Breezy said in a frantic voice. "Even more are losing sleep and are barely eating. There's plenty of green for them, but I don't understand why they're acting the way they are. Suzanne and the other vets are working overtime. I'm not sure how much longer they can keep up with the situation."

"Alright, I'll talk to Nigel about it. Thanks for the head's up."

"Anytime," said the feathered dinosaur. With a stretch of her wings and a well-timed jump, the _Microraptor_ glided towards the nearest tree.

"And don't forget what we spoke about!" Hazel mentioned as she watched the _Microraptor_ disappear into the treeline.

Without delay, the woman turned and continued on her trek towards Nigel's office. She could not help but think more on the conversation she had with the Guild leader, specifically on the part about Aladar and Neera's herd. This sort of thing was new to her. What would cause someone, be it animal or human, to be antsy? In the natural world, animals would be worried over a lot of things. Trying to determine the cause in a situation like this was going to be difficult. It certainly did not help that the herd members could not say what was causing them to feel this way. They would need to do a lot of observations and perhaps some deeply thought interviews.

She hoped her conversation with Nigel would bring some insight on an answer.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nigel's Den…

Hazel found the leader in question busily working through various papers. She was used to seeing his desk in a mess. Nigel was always busy with looking over new projects or coming up with new ideas for the sanctuary. The only thing with the park leader was that he would become so engrossed in his work that he would not notice anyone coming into his office.

She smirked at his antics and knocked at one of the wooden beams in the doorway. The resounding knock on the wood brought his gaze up to the young woman who had just entered.

"Ah, Hazel. There you are," he said, putting the papers in his hands onto his desk.

"Hi Nigel," Hazel quickly situated herself in front of his desk. Her fingers clasped each other at her back. "I came here as soon as I got your text. What's going on? Is something wrong?"

Nigel got up and went to the side of his desk. The girl's eyes followed him. "Oh, just a few things that I think you need to be aware of. Don't worry. You're not in trouble."

"Okay…" she hesitantly replied.

"But if nothing is done," he started, getting her full attention. "Then the park's Residents may be in danger."

Hazel's brows furrowed. The Residents are in danger? What from? Is it predators? No, that can't be right. Most of the park's Residents are far too large for today's predators…not to mention far too dangerous too. Not to mention she has not heard of any modern day animals come into the sanctuary to prey on anybody here.

Then, the worst idea came to mind. What if he was referring to the park being discovered? The public would quickly hear about a hidden sanctuary that housed dinosaurs and other creatures of the past. The idea of time travel would baffle the minds of everyone in the world. There would be intense scrutiny and suspicion from whoever comes close to the sanctuary. The public would want to come here, take pictures of everybody, and commercialize the place. Their technology would be stolen, perhaps for greedy purposes. And the Residents may be hunted by poachers.

No, it can't be that…can it? She hoped that was not the case. Anyone who was going to come for her friends and become the center of the world would have to go through her first.

"What's going on?" her eyes narrowed.

Nigel made his way to one part of his office. His hands grasped the wooden ledge in a way that his arms were spread apart. His gaze fell onto the mountains and the rest of the valley before him.

"This valley used to be so green when your father and I first laid eyes on it," he began. "The trees were so green that the expanded further from where they are now. The grassy plains were greener too, before construction. We had about a hundred Residents in this park, before you arrived. Some of which were modern day animals. We released them, of course, to help repopulate some areas."

Hazel shuddered. Was this the reason why Nigel called her over? The park was becoming overpopulated? But there was so much space in the valley! Was he planning to release some of the Residents to accommodate the given space in the park? How could he do this, to her own friends no doubt! They have nowhere else to go in this era! Was he going to release them back to their own times!?

The woman could not believe what she was hearing. After spending so long with the Residents, getting to know them and having the means to speak to them, he was actually going to let them go!? She never heard any complaints about moving out from anybody! No, she was not going to let this happen. She did not care who told him to do this. Nobody throws her friends out unless she has a say in it. The only reason why the park would release the Residents would be if they wished to return to their own times. Doing this against their will was just…horrifying!

As soon as she was about to retort her argument, Nigel beat her to it.

"Don't worry, we're not doing that now," he told her. It was as if he sensed that she was going to rebuke against his words. "All of the Residents have made their home here. Letting them go would be like throwing them out."

Hazel breathed a sigh of relief. The worry brushed off her like a pile of sand in a windy beach. She was glad she did not voice out her anger on Nigel.

"Actually, this place may not be their home for much longer," he brought up.

"What do you mean?"

"With the recent addition of Aladar and Neera's herd, our Resident roster had gone up to over three hundred. Then with the rescues of the three _Allosaurus_ , the Jurassic diplodocids, Caius and Flit, the _Dilophosaurus_ pack, the _Yi qi_ , and the new hatchlings from last year, we're probably close to about four hundred now. The resources the valley has can't supply that much with the borders we erected from the beginning," Nigel said, his back still at her.

Hazel's eyes lit up in understanding. Nigel was referring to this park becoming overcrowded. From what she knew about overcrowded places in the natural world, resources that are being exploited over their limit would be a problem to the populations living in that area. That would affect their food chain, their ecosystem, and perhaps the living conditions. If nothing was done, then this valley would become barren.

"I heard from some of the keepers that the Therizinosaurs have been complaining about the lack of food from some of their favorite trees," he turned to her. "We've been feeding them leaves that were shipped to us lately so that we could allow them to grow. Some of our original Residents aren't having that much of an issue, but they are noticing the environmental changes in the valley."

"I've also received reports of some of the Residents feeling a bit…trapped," Nigel continued with the reports. "I'm still working with Marcus on whether we should turn off the security generators; now that we're on a common level with them in terms of…" he pointed to the communicator that wrapped around his right ear. "Communication."

That thought hit Hazel like a rock. She had neglected to consider how the Residents were feeling in their enclosures! The woman felt ashamed for not considering how they felt; in other words, being more observant. They keep seeing the same stuff every day. They keep waking up to wood in their faces rather than open spaces. Nigel was right. It was like they were trapped.

Stunned into silence, she thought of how miserable they must be now. She started to blame herself for not seeing it sooner. Some friend she was to the Residents…

"You should go through with it!" Hazel voiced her support on abolishing the rule on keeping most of them in enclosures. "Let them out! They can look after themselves. They just need to know the boundaries of this place."

"Yes but if we do that, we'll have to let them ALL out. If I can recall, there are at least a few Residents we're not on good terms with, and the same goes with the thoughts of some of the other Residents on those individuals. But if we don't do something now, those enclosures they're in will be eventually be viewed as prisons, if not now."

Hazel sighed. He did have a point. Why let them out if not everyone was going to get along? Aladar and Neera's herd has made great strides in getting along with the neighbors. The party back in Christmas allowed them to get to know their predatory neighbors on a more personal level. Sure they now got along, but peaceful transitions are gradual processes. More time was the best answer to that, but somehow, Hazel was getting the feeling that time in this valley was something they are losing. The fear of them leaving was starting to become more apparent.

Then, she realized something. Nigel mentioned the resources declining and that not all of the Residents are happy. The Valley Herd was the prime example. What if those two are connected? This was just the herd, but what if that would also answer these problems? They need more space. What if that was what they needed? It would not only obliterate keeping them in enclosures, where they saw wood every day of their lives. It would allow them to roam around as if free from restraint.

Oh how could she forget!? Most of the Residents were migratory creatures! They went around to places where food was abundant or to escape certain climate conditions!

"Well, since we're on the topic of Residents now being happy, I wanted to bring up the topic on Aladar and Neera's herd," Hazel spoke up, wanting to tie her thoughts with the ill news on the herd's antics. "They're pretty antsy and losing sleep. Suzanne and the other vets have no idea what's causing them to act like this. But after you mentioned the issue about the declining resources and the Residents not having enough space, I think I may know what the issue is. Aladar and Neera's herd migrate every year to some Feeding Grounds. Don't ask me where it is because they never told me. And I doubt their testimonies will help because that place may not exist anymore now. Maybe they leave the Nesting Grounds so they could go to a place with more food. Maybe they're well aware of the balance of resources here, just in their own way. I'm just throwing out ideas, but I think that's the solution to everyone's problem right now. They need more space."

Nigel eyed her intently. One of his brows went up. "So how do you think we should go about this?"

Hazel was taken aback by this statement. He never asked this kind of question before. Normally, he was always the one with all the answers. Now he was asking her for a solution. But it did not make any sense; the leader is supposed to have all the answers. Or at least, get an opinion from his subordinates. Wait…was that what he was expecting? Some kind of advice?

She inhaled and started to explain her idea. "Well…if I were the head of Prehistoric Park, I'd expand the place. Maybe a couple of miles out would work. They'll have more land to graze on and more places to stretch their legs. Then, those that migrate annually will need a migration route, one that is safe from the prying eyes of other humans as well as safe for the wildlife in the local areas."

Nigel smiled, much to her surprise.

"I knew you would say that. Great minds think alike."

Hazel blinked, puzzled by his reaction. "Wait, what?"

"What I just explained was not only to inform you, but also as a test," he turned around to face her. "I wanted to know how we should go about this. The solution I have is the same as yours. You found the right answer that will answer everyone's problems."

Hazel stammered. She said the correct answer? In one go? What were the chances? "Uh…thanks?"

"I'm going to renovate the park, expand it southward and towards the ocean. That way, we have more space to grow."

The Asian smiled happily at the thought of the park getting more space. "Well that's great!"

"But, there's the problem with construction and handling the Residents," Nigel brought up, dampening her spirits again. "The process of tearing down buildings and enclosures will no doubt interfere with everyone's way of life in this park. It's going to be a nuisance to the Residents and many won't like seeing familiar structures being drastically changed. There is a solution to this, one that will involve your cooperation."

Hazel replied with much determination. "Anything for my friends."

He nodded, accepting her full cooperation. "Long before you arrived, I had a secret facility built to house the Residents. It's to serve as a contingency plan in case of emergencies, such as right now. The S.A.G.E.S has no knowledge of it, only the employees who have worked here long enough. The Residents can stay there in relative safety while we sort out the problems here."

"Well, where is this facility? Is it a few miles from here? Is it hidden around some mountains or in an island like Jurassic Park?"

Nigel laughed at the light joke referencing the famous Steven Spielberg movie. "No on either of them. You won't find it on a map."

Hazel became puzzled. She put her right hand on her hip and shifted her weight on that side. "Then…where?"

"Not where. _When_ ," he emphasized that last word. "The facility is in another time period."

She gawked. There was another park built long before she arrived and it was in another time period!? How did he manage to pull that off!? While it must have taken a lot of work, she wondered how he was able to construct a hidden facility without the S.A.G.E.S knowledge. This new piece of information was a lot to take in that she was having a hard time processing it.

"The facility, which I like to call Temporary Park, is in Late Cretaceous Alaska. I've recorded the exact date, time, and location of the place when it was finished. If I can recall, it was in the middle of the summer season. So the climate for the Residents should be tolerable."

"What about food?" she thought about one aspect of this emergency sanctuary. "Some of the Residents are specialists and can only eat certain types of food."

"The forests surrounding the Park have enough food to accommodate them," he said. "As for the specialists, I had a large greenhouse built to house special plants that they feed on. It took a while for them to grow and we needed to have most of them shipped to us before we could take them to Temporary Park."

Hazel stared at him, dumbfounded. How could he keep this from her? Why didn't she know about it? Were the other employees aware? What about the Residents that was here when the park started? What, didn't he trust her? So many thoughts on this revelation filled her mind that she started to think that the man was keeping more things from her. If she was going to inherit this park in the future, then shouldn't she know everything by now?

"So first you created a way to time travel, then you invent communicators that allow us to talk to the residents as well as phones that can work through space and time, and now you're telling me there is another park that was constructed without my knowledge!?" she paced back and forth, all the while raising her voice in anger.

"Nigel, why haven't you told me about any of this!?" Hazel stopped just mere inches from his face. He, on the other hand, kept a calm demeanor as she ranted on. "Why not any sooner!? Am I not trustworthy!?"

"I couldn't tell you because you weren't ready," was all he said.

She took a few steps back in complete surprise. "What do you mean I wasn't ready?"

"I mean you didn't possess the qualities of a leader yet," Nigel explained as best as he could. "I had to make sure that you knew what to do when you take my place. Already, you know how to perform rescues, look after the Residents, and protect everyone from danger. You learned that some decisions you must make are difficult and the consequences that followed. I had to be sure that you experienced the ups and downs of being in Prehistoric Park before I could tell you. That and the situations before didn't call for this contingency. As I said, Temporary Park is only for emergencies, and this qualifies as one."

Hazel threw her hands up quickly, becoming frustrated with each passing minute. "So why did you call me here? Why not tell everyone else this so we would all know?"

"Because there's something else you need to know about the contingency. In order for the construction to go along smoothly, everyone in Prehistoric Park needs to be evacuated to Temporary Park. The other employees are aware that this place has contingencies in case of emergencies. I did not tell you because what I am telling you now was meant for you. I had to let the heads of the departments know that they should not breathe a word to you about it because that was my job. Someone needs to be in Temporary Park to make sure that the park and everyone else is operating efficiently. They need a person who's had experience with the kind of work I do. Someone…needs to lead them."

The woman fell silent. So that was why nobody, not even Nigel, told her about this. He was waiting to tell her when he deemed her ready. He needed her to lead everyone in this hidden facility while the main park was being renovated. But, this also opened up more questions as well.

"Okay…I see your point," she calmed down from her tirade. "What about you?"

"I need to remain here to make sure construction goes smoothly," he rested a hand on the wooden ledge behind him. "There will also be some Residents that can't make the move; the African elephants primarily. Temporary Park is built to house a multitude of creatures. We anticipated large numbers so we built indoor enclosures for those who are specialized in specific environments. The large Residents won't have that luxury, but they will have open spaces to roam around in. The setup is similar to Prehistoric Park, with just a few minor differences."

"What about the possibility of attack from outside predators?"

Nigel smirked; knowing that she was getting at all the questions she wanted to know. "I knew you were getting to that. I had Marcus produce special White Noise Cannons to draw off invading wildlife. They encompass the whole park border. Humans, of course, are immune to them. Prehistoric wildlife, on the other hand, is not. I'll get into detail about how they operate more lately, but so long as no Resident wanders off, no predator will be hunting them down."

Hazel never heard about White Noise cannons. Perhaps because it was a new invention that Marcus made without her knowledge. But she did understand the context of how they operated. From her point of view, she equated the White Noise cannons to the electric barriers erected to keep pets within a household area. Except, these machines would keep invading wildlife out.

This was good. The park getting renovated will no doubt allow the Residents to attain the freedom that they had before coming to the park. However, she wondered about whether ALL of the Residents were going to get that privilege.

"What about our predators? Will they be able to roam around too once the park's renovated?"

He sighed in a sad way. "Sadly, that is something I can't answer yet. Peace between predator and prey is hard to attain, as you and I both know. Not everyone is comfortable with them roaming around. That party we held over Christmas helped in breaking the ice a bit, and yes most of them are now on good terms. But with the predators that aren't too fond of the others, Diablo and Rascal especially, we don't want to risk putting others in danger. Then there is the possibility of them…relapsing into their previous ways."

The young recruit gritted her teeth and swiped her hand like she was pushing an invisible force away. "But I'm friends with most of the predators! I know they'd never do that!"

"True. But I don't want to run that risk," he let out a dejected exhale. "However, I will say this. I think the wall between predator and prey attaining peace is close. There are just a small number of the Residents that need to realize that. Maybe if you can convince both sides to find common ground, perhaps there is a chance."

Hazel huffed. "Easier said than done if it's with Diablo and Rascal." She had nearly forgotten about them. If all of the Residents were going to roam around freely, then that would mean that the less than desirable predators like those two would need to be granted that privilege. And everyone knew about the trouble they caused in the past. The wounds still ran deep from the mess they caused before.

"I'm not saying it will be easy. But those two are the primary ones to watch out for. Now both of them have calmed down while they were here, so there is still a chance. Try to get them to open up."

"Okay…but what about the issue of everyone wanting more space back here at the park? Are you just going to keep the enclosures the same? What about the bugs in the Bug House? How will they cope with the outside conditions? And Aladar and Neera's herd need some place to go for future migrations. What if this Temporary Park isn't enough for them?"

"Oh, I have plans for them," he quietly chuckled. "I don't want to tell you yet. That would spoil the surprise."

Hazel stared at the floor, her back feeling heavier than it was when she arrived. Nigel just told her that a secret facility was built long before she came to the park, the whole sanctuary was about to go barren hence why it was going to go through a renovation, and now he wants her to lead everybody in that hidden facility while he stayed in the present to renovate the park? Not to mention she was going to lead _alone_. She's never done this sort of thing before, except her last trip to the Jurassic. All she's ever done was help out when she could, do what she was told as long as it felt right, and defend everyone's beliefs.

Nigel has had years of experience in leading a group. Hazel only had ONE instance where she did, and look where that went. She only succeeded in getting criticized by one of the team members. Sure they did a good job in bringing a number of rescues and she got a handful of congratulatory comments here and there, but overall her first attempt did not go very well. Now she was being expected to take on something that was leagues harder than what she was exposed to.

"I don't know. This seems…so sudden," she hesitantly uttered. Hazel looked at him with insecurity and fear in her eyes. "You're sending me back to a secret facility, where I need to lead a whole park, without you there? I just don't know if I can do it. I've never done it alone. Are you certain that I am ready for this? What if I screw up? What if something does go wrong? What if I cause chaos unintentionally, like create some kind of a civil war between the Residents?"

"Hazel, calm down," he replied. "You're not going to mess up. If you do, just learn from it and set things right. You've seen how leaders act; some of your friends are leaders. And of course, I'm one too. It's a learning experience."

Nigel gently squeezed her shoulder with a free hand. She tensed at the grip but then relaxed. "As I said, this is like a final test. I know you can do this. I believe in you."

Hazel blushed a bit at that comment. Maybe he was right. She had been learning a lot since she first arrived here. And that one mission was just one instance out of what she was going to encounter. Perhaps being a leader was something that involved practice. He believes she can do this and she has the support of her friends. She could always bring up her problems to her friends and get their advice as long as it's within their power.

"Okay," she said with renewed confidence. "I'll do my best."

Nigel smiled. "Good. Now then, there are a couple things you need to be aware of. The first one is the time difference."

"Time difference?" asked the newly appointed leader of Temporary Park. "But, doesn't the time between periods flow equally unless you're in the Ordovician or someplace like that?"

The Time Poles that the Park had always coincided with the time in the present, unless the users were taken to a time where the Earth was spinning much faster than the 21st century. Most of the time, the days in the past would be connected to the time in the present. An example would be 8:00 during the summer in sunset during the Late Jurassic would be more or less equal to what was happening in the 21st century because it was also occurring.

That was a radical example of a time difference. Yet, Nigel seemed like he was referring to something more extreme.

"Yes, but I'm referring to your time in Temporary Park. In order to allow construction of Prehistoric Park to operate quickly, the time poles will have to be desynchronized. As mentioned before, I along with some of the other employees and the Residents that cannot leave will not be able to go to Temporary Park. That is because we will be cutting off the time poles you will have with the main ones here."

Hazel fell into a stunned silence. So that's what he was referring to! Somehow, the time poles in Temporary Park will be unlinked with the ones at Prehistoric Park. Time in the present will go much faster than when they will be at. In other words, they would be separated by millions of years just to allow Prehistoric Park to recover and expand while they remain in the Late Cretaceous.

"We won't be able to directly go to where you are at," he continued, puzzling her again. "Opening a portal back to us will prove risky too, as doing so would only open a portal to a random point in time. In short, you will basically be stranded."

The Asian winced at that last word. Stranded usually pertained to being alone in some desolate place. In this case, she would be with most of Prehistoric Park in another time period, surviving a land where they might get attacked by vicious predators. The White Noise cannons should deflect them from approaching but that did not stop her from thinking of the possibility of them failing. Then again, there were Residents that were more than capable of handling the predators the do come in. Carnivores in Alaska were not as big as a _Tyrannosaurus rex_ , but they were faster. This meant that everyone would need to be on guard. She would have to plan out how to organize backup protection plans. They were going to their turf after all.

"So that's what you meant when you weren't going to come," said Hazel in understanding. "I won't be getting help from you because I'll have no way of getting back to Prehistoric Park."

"The phones will still be somewhat connected," the man brought his own cellphone out of his back pocket for a moment before placing it back. "It's just the communications between yours and the present will be discordant. Phone calls won't work, as calling would have interference due to the time being disconnected. Texting will still work, but replies back and forth will occur in random points in time. If you send a message to me, you may not get a reply from me until days later in your point in time; whereas in my end, I won't be able to get that message for weeks."

"I guess I need to consider that," she accepted the information hesitantly. Her only contact to Prehistoric Park other than the other senior employees would be delayed in his assistance on situations. Looks like she is really on her own on this one.

"In addition, because we will be desynchronizing the Time Poles and after doing some calculations with Marcus on the matter, we've concluded that once you complete your stay in Temporary Park for 3 months, 2 years will have gone by in the present."

Her eyes bugged and she gawked. It took her several moments to find her voice again. "2 years!?"

Nigel nodded seriously. "Yes. The reason why we set it that way is so that the park can be ready for you as quickly as possible. We need that amount of time to expand."

"Okay. I see your point."

"You'll have all the food and supplies you'll need to survive those three months. In fact, you have more than enough to last for longer than that."

All the food and supplies needed for an extended stay in the distant past. That does sound like a safe house in the middle of a danger-infested landscape in a polar region. He did say that they would be staying there during the summer season so intense cold should not be much of a problem. If it weren't for the fact that they would be in unknown territory while anxiously waiting to get back to Prehistoric Park, then this would have been a vacation.

Nigel said he was going to stay here for two years, but what about Suzanne, Marcus, and Bob? Are they going to stay too? What about the other recruits that were hired months ago? Is it just going to be her that's going? She can't be the only young recruit going back.

"Okay…so I know that some of the employees are coming. I'm sure there are volunteers for this, or will be. But, is there anyone in particular that I need to know about? Are Marcus, Suzanne, and Bob coming too?"

The park leader clad in blue and brown shook his head. "You will have a team of employees that will come along. But, no staff roster is complete without the heads of the departments. Do you know of the new recruits that you will eventually be working with? Chris, Daisy, and Ellis?"

"Yes," her eyes bulged. A mental curse ran through her brain as soon as she realized it. That _boy_ who always berated her for nearly everything she did was going to come along. She had forgotten that he was being trained to take Bob's place. Now Ellis and Daisy she could work with. She had no problem with them. Avoiding Chris was not going to happen at all. "Oh…so I'll be working with them."

"Yes," he replied, oblivious to the positive façade she was giving out. "They were being trained for something like this. In a way, this is a test for them too."

" _Great…I'm going to spend three months with Mr. Nitpick,"_ she groaned inside. Hazel dreaded the days when she and Chris would be fighting over something so small. Then again, they had their own duties to do around the Park. It was not like they were going to constantly see each other the whole time. Hopefully, her duties as Park leader would keep her busy and away from him. If anything gets out of hand, she could assign one of the other employees as her messenger.

Three months in Temporary Park and two years in the 21st century. Hazel was going to be out of contact from a lot of people. She was already out of school so she did not have any education she was going to miss out on. She was basically a high school graduate. But, what about those outside of Prehistoric Park, mainly her mom and sister?

Not long after her father died, relations with her mother became strained. Her mom took up a job in some huge company that she forgot the name for that demanded constant travel. She and her younger sister lived with their grandparents while their mother was out working. She barely spoke to them over the years.

Hazel's attitude towards her mother became colder as time went on. She was never there for her karate tournaments. She never came to any of her birthdays; not even her 16th birthday. She never gave sufficient support over the phone on social problems of any kind. Her mother was never there when she needed her. Hazel would call her; even send texts letting her know what was happening. She received no answer at all. It was up until a point when Hazel hated her. She would not take a single phone call from that woman.

By the time their grandparents died, they were already in specific stages in their lives. Hazel missed her grandparents, as they helped to fill the hole that was in her heart when her parents faded. Hanna was equally saddened as well. Their mother could not come home for their funeral due to a demanding meeting overseas.

Hanna chose to live with some friends. She was already close to them so living with them was not a problem. Their other relatives lived outside of the state but that option was moot as Hanna wished to continue her education in the school she was in. Hazel, on the other hand, went a different route. By the time graduation came, she got the chance to live with Nigel in his "hidden sanctuary". He had basically taken her in, something she was not opposed to. They shared no family relation but he was a close friend to her father. He was like another uncle, who soon turned into a sort of adopted father as the years went on.

Her feelings to her mother did not change. Every time her mother called, she would always berate her on how absent and incompetent she was. This went on for years until one Christmas; Hazel was convinced to give her another chance. The two of them made up and started over.

Things with her family got better after that holiday. Hazel barely spoke with her sister after she starting living in Prehistoric Park, but that was because she had her own life. The two of them still got along to this day. She now spoke to them more, building up the relationship that was broken years ago. Neither of them knew of Prehistoric Park or of her friends. Revealing the secret of her second home would be too much for them. All she did inform them was that she worked in a sanctuary with Nigel on taking care of endangered animals. She did not tell them of its location as doing so would put all the animals in danger. Thankfully, they bought the façade but every now and then, they would ask about it.

Now that Hazel was going to spend two years their time in another era, she would be absent from their lives. They would be wondering where she is, and saying that being in another time period leading a whole park with sentient Prehistoric Residents was not an option. She will definitely miss them, even though she was going to be gone for three months in her time. She could send them text messages but there would be that delay from the time interference. What would be the solution to this?

"What about my mom and sister?" inquired the worried Hazel. "I'm going to be gone for 2 years so they'll be wondering where I'm at. I can't just call them and let them know I'm fine. I'll be stuck in the past."

"Oh don't worry," Nigel replied assuredly. "I'll come up with a cover story."

Of course he would. What sort of cover story he was going to use was beyond her. She just hoped it would prove effective to keep them at bay long enough for when she comes back.

"Okay…I'm just wondering. How are we going to tell the other Residents?"

Their conversation was drawn towards the wooden ledge overlooking the open part of the valley. A series of chirps and the appearance of four winged dinosaurs came into the meeting. Four brown and white _Microraptors_ perched onto the wooden beams. Their plumage covered the expanse of one pillar to the next before they retracted their wings. Their leader, which they could tell was Breezy due to her slightly larger size, hopped closer to the park leader.

"Hello!" Breezy sang cheerfully. She twerked her as she inspected the two humans before her. "I see you guys are still having that meeting. Did we come at a bad time?"

The two of them exchanged a glance before they shook their heads.

"Nope," said the satisfied Nigel. "We were just about to wrap up."

"We wanted to let you know that Espantos is returning to his enclosure so we'll take over the courier business for today," Breezy informed. "So if you guys are done with your meeting, should we…you know…work our magic, as you humans usually say it?" she gestured her head towards them, patiently waiting for an answer.

Hazel wanted to face palm. Of course, how could she forget about the courier business? They could spread the news around quickly thanks to the park's Resident Terror Bird. News and updates on the move can be efficiently spread to everyone in a short period of time. And she was also betting that Nigel will send emails, texts, and hold meetings with the other employees about it too. Informing everyone about this trip would not be much of a problem.

There was one thing though…

"Breezy, did you already know that Nigel was going to tell me about this?" an eye twitched in annoyance.

The _Microraptors_ shifted nervously. The leader of the Guild giggled with a hint of apprehension. Her feathers flattened from the tense situation. "Um…heh…maybe?"

Hazel's eyes narrowed, irritation building up inside her. "And did you know of what was going to happen in this meeting?"

"I had an idea," she defended, flapping her wings wildly. "Nigel did say that whatever this meeting was about would concern everyone in the park. So he told us to come here after a while so we could get the scoop. And here we are."

She relented and shook her head at how coincidental the _Microraptors_ were on their knowledge on this. They always eavesdrop on Nigel's plans since they live so close to his office. That was how they were able to spread the message on to Espantos who would then inform everyone else.

"Well, I guess your timing is impeccable," she made a reluctant smile while keeping her attitude in check.

All of the _Microraptors_ giggled. Their sing-songy chatters filled the air with a melodious laughter.

Breezy leaned her head in. Her nervousness melted away the moment Hazel relented. "So, what do we need to know?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Old Gotama's Grove…

Hazel gazed upon the whole valley, the wind meeting her face like a gentle hand brushing against her. Dinosaurs roamed about, feeding on the greenery in the valley, talking amongst themselves, getting a drink on the river way that went through the park, or whatever business they did. She could not see any of the elephants, but she knew that they were around the area. The Residents in their enclosures milled about their spaces, either doing some exercise, talking, eating, or sleeping.

Usually when she was deep in thought, Hazel would take a walk around the park. Her wanderings brought her to the grove of Old Gotama. She sat at the edge, holding her knees close and feeling the tall blades of grass kiss her skin. The small green grove consisted of a cluster of trees from the forest that opened up to an empty space. A rock wall surrounded part of the vicinity. One part of the wall had the skeleton of a dead _Iguanodon_. That very dinosaur was the one that founded the Nesting Grounds through certain circumstances, at least according to legend.

She contemplated on what she learned today. Nigel was assigning her to be the leader of Temporary Park while he stayed behind to oversee the expansion of Prehistoric Park. She and everyone else that were going were going to be gone for three months their time but two years in the 21st century. She will have little to no help on leading, only having the advice of those around her. Contacting anyone in the 21st century would only be limited to texts as the time interference from disconnecting the time poles would disrupt phone calls.

Was she really ready for this? Nigel believed she was. He trained her for something like this. She learned how to run Prehistoric Park under his guidance, what to look out for when surviving in the field, and even how to act properly in certain situations. Knowing how to lead was one thing, but being a leader was another. Leading that rescue mission in the Jurassic period earlier did not go very well for some as she was terrible in communication. At least she knew what to do, but what if it was a more serious situation?

No, Nigel knew she was ready. She was surrounded by different leaders of different species. She learned the dos and don'ts. She hoped that she would not forget. At least she would have some support.

Then there was the matter on her family. Nigel was going to come up with a cover story on her absence. But would it really work? Her mother was really inquisitive. Nigel had better come up with a good story otherwise keeping the park a secret from them would be difficult. He never failed in the past, so she hoped that he would be fine for this one.

Hazel Veran, the appointed leader of Temporary Park and the future leader of Prehistoric Park. Was this really happening? 20 years old and she was already being placed into a manager position. To anyone's eyes, it was like a child was being placed as a leader of a group of 400. The idea sounds absurd!

She never thought she would be thrust into a position like this so quickly. She had been told before that she would never be a leader by none other than a former leader.

Wait, but that was a dream. That former leader died about a year and a half ago. She remembered that nightmare as if she had it last night, even though that was before she saved the herd from the meteor strike that killed the dinosaurs.

His name was Kron; the previous leader of the herd in the valley and the deceased brother of Neera. When she first met him, he was cold-hearted and stubborn. He saw her as none other than a nuisance, yet it was through the convincing of his sister that she was allowed to join the herd as well as assist Flia in her scouting regime. Hazel feared being around him as he berated her for her mistakes. She did her best to forget his scolding and brush them off. At the same time, she would have moments where she would try to protest against his decisions, but be held back by Flia for her own safety. Then there was that one time when she did protest but was let off on a warning…

Back then, she did not think much of the issues as she was merely there to help escort the herd to their Nesting Grounds, assuming it was still around. Her real mission was to get them to Prehistoric Park if their home was destroyed.

Her time as a scout ended poorly as she did the very thing she was advised not to; question his leadership. He was planning to leave her friends behind to incoming Carnotaurs while the rest of the herd went ahead; oddly enough, one of the Carnotaurs now lived in Prehistoric Park. She protested his actions, but doing so only led to her exile.

Hazel hated him and planned to not bring him back to Prehistoric Park. But it was through certain events that led her to think otherwise. She could not save him from his death. All he ever believed in was Survival of the Fittest. It was also through a stunning revelation from Flia some time ago that he was much like Aladar years ago, before a tragedy caused him to turn into the arrogant tyrant she equated the _Iguanodon_ to in her memories.

Since that time, she had a bit of a respect for the leader. His leadership in his late years were inappropriate, but at least she knew that his way was not correct. She also learned one harsh part of being a leader, and that was making hard decisions that would either mean the survival of your wards or their deaths. He fought to uphold the safety of the herd, especially his sister, but his actions became jaded over the years from the loss of the many members of the herd.

Hazel was not going to let that happen to her. She had her friends to help. If anything happened, she would turn to them.

But, she could not help but think of how Kron was thinking now that she was being appointed as a leader. She thought of how dumbstruck, speechless, and infuriated he must be now that he had been proven wrong. If Kron were still alive then he would think that she was going to take over as leader of the herd. He would probably try to squash her from where she stood, but that was a worst case scenario. If anything, he would be miffed at her. She knew him better now after knowing his history and having that feeling that he cared about everyone's safety. However, she could not help but feel amused at his reactions on her meeting her destiny.

"I'm going to be a leader. The first FEMALE leader of the park," she uttered proudly. "It's like I'm making history. Let's hope my mark is a good one."

She looked back, her eyes falling on the prone skeleton of Old Gotama. A frozen tooth smile a plant eater would make was forever etched in stone. He found this valley with his herd a long time ago. It was overrun by carnivores somewhere in that story, but by banding together, Old Gotama and his extended family drove them out. It was through trust, unity, and determination that brought them victory. "All are welcome here" was what she remembered Eema saying the day she and Nigel first encountered this place. The Fireball decimated the Nesting Grounds of the past, but the valley recovered over time. Old Gotama remained intact over millions of years when he should have disintegrated into dust from being exposed for a long time.

The Nesting Grounds, or more precisely, Prehistoric Park, withstood the test of time. Old Gotama had been immortalized in legends; not just in rock, but in memory. Perhaps Hazel would be like him too. Depending on her performance in Temporary Park, she could be a legend and leave her mark in the legacy of this valley.

Hazel smiled at that thought. Standing up, she looked to the sky, imagining that a certain stubborn _Iguanodon_ was watching.

"Hey Kron! I'm sure you heard that! What was that about me not becoming a leader!? I just proved you wrong because soon, you'll be looking at the future head of this park! Eat your fricking heart out!" she shouted to the heavens.

Her proclamation echoed into the valley. The Residents below stopped their meandering and looked over in her direction. Hazel fell silent and backed away from the edge. Embarrassment filled her as she tried to make herself hidden from those in the valley. In her mind, she imagined Kron being annoyed but secretly amused at her little blunder.

As she backed away slowly, her gaze fell onto the landscape. The place was so green and clean that it was hard to imagine that this used to be an ancient breeding ground. But she noticed the vegetation, or rather, the reduction in it. Nigel showed her some pictures of the valley before Prehistoric Park was built. The trees expanded far into base of the valley, almost close to where the park now stood. The grasses were so tall that it was almost like a green sea.

Now, with the amount of time that passed, the trees stretched only to the base of the mountain. The vegetation that grew around it looked bare. The constant eating of the herd along with the exploitation of the employees for supplies had degraded the once plentiful vegetation. The grasses were not looking as well either as they were no longer as tall as before. The dinosaurs that lived there also ate away at it. The green sea no longer looked plentiful.

Determination and resolve overcame Hazel. Prehistoric Park needed to recover. Temporary Park needed a leader. She was the only one who could fill that role. Nigel asked her to do this, and she did not want to disappoint him.

Her time has come to prove to everyone the destiny she strived for.


	4. Rookies' First Day: Ellis and Espantos

_**Darksage: Hey guys. It's Darksage and Marc, here with another chapter in Book 4 of the DaPPA series. How was the previous chapter? Got a couple new characters introduced, eh? And Hazel's got a new job too! Well, it's about to get a bit more interesting**_ __ _ **.**_

 _ **Marc: Yup, what she said. Now a couple of things before we leave you guys again. 1) For making Director Rain in the previous chapter, we kind of based her off a couple of characters from other media. The first one being Madam Sulliman from Howl's Moving Castle and the second one is Salem from RWBY, in personality.**_

 _ **Darksage: My idea! ^.^ I don't know, she kind of is a combination of those two icons. Now don't go jumping to conclusions just yet. Just saying.**_

 _ **Marc: Right…Next up is regarding character personalities. There was a recent review regarding a certain Terror Bird in the story. Now, we don't want to say much, but there are more things to the characters. We're not going to say anything because that would be spoiling. And as for the other characters and their roles in their story? Well, we don't want to spoil those as well**_ __ _ **.**_

 _ **Darksage: Yup. Another thing. There will be time instances in this chapter and in the next few that may sound a bit confusing in the story plot. The reason being is because they took place sometime after the Christmas special. And finally,**_ _ **this chapter was written by Marc Ello**_ _ **. Let's give him a hand folks!**_

 _ ***applause***_

 _ **Marc: Thank you! Thank you!**_

 _ **Darksage: Awesome job on it!**_

 _ **Marc: Thanks. And this chapter is just the beginning too. Now just so you know, this chapter actually coincides with the next couple, so it's separated into parts. You'll see why.**_

 _ **Darksage: Alright, enough talk. Let's get this show on the road!**_

Road leading to Terror Bird Fields…

Hazel walked down the dirt road with a slight bounce in her step. The news from Nigel about her recent appointment to leader of "Temporary Park" left the Asian girl very excited. She finally had a chance to "strut her stuff" and show her mentor and her peers that she was well on her way of being worthy of inheriting Prehistoric Park and leading it just as well if not better than her predecessor. She had some doubts but was reassured by Nigel and her other adult mentors that she would do a fine job. As a result of her little "promotion", Hazel had to inform the Residents of their impending trip. And the fastest way to inform all of the Residents in a timely fashion was to unfortunately get the Park's swiftest courier to spread the news; something that the young woman dreaded.

Taking a deep breath, she finally reached the Terror Bird Fields, needing the assistance of the zany yellow and black feathered fiend. Espantos the _Phorusrhacos_ was the Park's courier, relaying information to the other Residents in a timely manner, even if it was a bit muddied from his childish speech. However, Espantos had been surprisingly scarce as of late. The Terror Bird still did his job, but no one has seen him randomly sprinting about the Park. Surprisingly, Espantos was seen more around his enclosure more often than not. While that would bode well in any other circumstance, Hazel had a feeling it wasn't as it appeared to be.

Before she could get to the fence-line of the enclosure, a yellow blur zoomed passed her, nearly knocking her over. Before she could get angry, her eyes turned to ones of disbelief to the sight before her.

Unbelievably, there was a young man sprawled on a beach chair; where the man found a beach chair, Hazel had no idea. He wore a vinyl T-shirt with blue jeans, a pair of sunglasses, and an orange baseball cap on his head. The man was engrossed on his iPhone, listening to obscenely loud music if the blasting of the muffled tunes in his headphones were anything to go off of. If the Asian woman didn't somewhat know him, she would have assumed the young man was a lost tourist; unfortunately, he wasn't. Currently, he was lying about as Espantos scurried up to his side.

"Here you go Ellis! I found your Dr. Peeper cans!" The Terror Bird cried out as he plopped the six-pack of Dr. Pepper next to the relaxed young man.

"Thanks buddy! I knew you could find those pesky things." Ellis then reached to the side of his chair and pulled up a large slab of steak. He then tossed it in the air, prompting Espantos to snatch it up in his beak.

Hazel's eyebrow began to twitch. Ellis Rey had been an annoyance ever since she had the displeasure of knowing him; what's worse was that Ellis somehow got Espantos to correctly remember his name when he first met him. The young man was the only one willing to put up with the Terror Bird's personality and look after him for his introduction into Prehistoric Park. Long story short, the human and avian got along like a house on fire.

Hazel scowled as she remembered the day that she got acquainted with Ellis.

 _Suzanne's Infirmary, a couple months ago…_

"Do I really need this thing installed? I can understand animals just fine." Hazel said, trying to hide the whine in her voice.

"Yeah, _prehistoric_ animals. We can't have the girl who started the trend of talking to animals not understand creatures of the present." Marcus snarked as he fastened another leather cuff on Hazel's arm. "I already upgraded the rest of the Park's Communicators, now it's your turn. Now stop squirming brat."

Currently, the young woman was strapped on one of the medical beds of the infirmary. The reason why was because Marcus had an "upgrade" for her.

"I sort of understand the need for the upgrade, but why are you strapping me to a table?"

Marcus then reached down near one of the nearby tables and pulled up a MASSIVE power drill. Revving the drill twice, the engineer methodically made his way to the restrained and VERY terrified woman.

"You might want to stay still. You may feel some minor discomfort."

Eyes widened, the restrained woman now actively began to struggle against her bindings.

"NO! Nonononono! Please stop! I never agreed to this!" Hazel squealed. Marcus didn't listen as he just inched the spinning drill close to her head. Hazel just squeezed her eyes shut as she was panicking.

As the bound woman was freaking out, Marcus subtly revved his drill twice to alert his hidden companion in the room. Drawing back a surgical curtain revealed Suzanne's Veterinary assistant: Sarah. Sarah had a mischievous smirk etched on her face as she held up a finger to her lips. In her hands were two inconspicuous earring studs. The vet assistant tiptoed and as the drill was roaring in Hazel's ear, Hazel still a blubbering mess, Sarah gently tugged off the young traveler's earrings from her lobes and replaced them the new earrings in her hands.

"And we're done!" Sarah said.

"Great work kid," Marcus chuckled as she pulled away his drill.

"Wait… What? What the hell just happened?!" The Asian woman shouted.

"We just put in your new modern-day animal Communicator. You're welcome."

"Then what was that drill for?"

Marcus just had a shit-eating grin. "I was just fuckin' with ya brat!"

"Did you REALLY think that Suzanne would allow Marcus to drill into your face?" Sarah rhetorically questioned.

Hazel gritted her teeth as she scowled. "YOU GUYS SUCK!"

The Head Engineer dismissed the woman's rage as he made to unstrap her. "Anyways, now that you have your new Communicator, it's time for a test."

Sarah pulled up her phone to bring up a video that she made earlier in the day to help in the test.

"This video is of a little elephant who wanted to help in the test. Just listen to it until you can tell us what the calf is telling you."

Still miffed at the hazing she received, Hazel pushed passed it as she took the phone to view the video. On the screen was a young calf, cutely squeaking and trumpeting in Hazel's opinion. However, in the next few seconds, the inane trumpeting turned into regular English, evidence that the device in Hazel's ear was working properly.

"— **ame is Mikiya! It will be so nice to meet you when you can finally understand me. Then you can meet my Mama, my aunties, and a bunch of other creature too! I got to go now! Auntie Martha is taking me to see my friends. Bye bye Ms. Hazel!"**

Hazel returned the phone to Sarah with an amazed look on her face.

"Okay that was impressive." The woman relented. "I guess I have to meet Mikiya and her family now."

"Be sure to bring her bananas for her. It's her favorite," the assistant vet informed.

Marcus simply nodded in agreement as he jotted down some notes in his notebook about his device.

"Hmm… It took 4.5 seconds longer for the translation software to kick in, but that shouldn't be anything to worry about. It should correct itself over time." He finished his notes and snapped his journal shut. "Regardless, I got a little 'user manual' I want you to memorize at my workshop. Just so you know how to properly take care of my equipment."

As the two women followed in Marcus' wake, Hazel couldn't help but roll her eyes. The majority of Prehistoric Park knew how much of a mess Marcus' workshop was and knew to give his place of work a wide berth. How the engineer managed to navigate the mess of a workshop was anyone's guess.

"Uh oh, we're heading to Marcus' place?" the young Asian rhetorically commented to the taller blonde vet beside her.

"Personally, never been there before," Sarah admitted. "But I heard from Suzanne that it has a less than stellar reputation."

"Just don't touch my stuff," Marcus called over his shoulder. "I have several projects in various stages of development and I'd rather not have one of them blow up or something."

Despite his casual tone, neither Hazel nor Sarah knew if he was joking or not. As the trio made their way down the path to the workshop, the workshop just within eyesight, out sprinted Julie, Marcus' assistant engineer. She had a panicked look on her face and was slightly out of breath as she nearly barreled into Marcus' body. The head engineer caught his rattled assistant to prevent her from falling.

"Whoa Jules! Where's the fire? Did my fuel cells explode again?"

"Well, yes that did happen, but I put the fires out. However, that's not why I'm here." Julie recomposed herself.

"Well, walk and talk. I got to get Hazel her user manual in my shop." Marcus responded as he made it to his workshop's door.

Julie's eye turned to pinpricks. "No wait, Marcus! Don't open—!"

"OH MY GOD!"

Thinking the worst, Hazel and Sarah rushed into the room, expecting trouble. The sight took them aback, but thankfully it wasn't harmful.

Marcus' Workshop never looked so clean. The normally cluttered tool-wall, with improper tools hung randomly, was in their orderly, assigned places. The random bits and bobs were in their proper places and not scattered amongst the tables. And various machines that were usually displaced in random areas and broken were assembled and off to a side table. Overall, it was like stepping into an entirely different person's workshop.

"Wow, the place is so clean. It doesn't seem like a mess like everyone says." Sarah commented as she glances around.

"The Workshop is usually a lot worse than this." Hazel replied.

As this was happening, Marcus was having a major system shock. Picking up what was now an assembled portable fuel cell generator with shaking hands, Marcus turned back to his wary engineer assistant.

"Julie… Who. The HELL. Did this?" The head engineer slowly started.

"I'm sorry sir! I tried to stop him."

Before she could continue, the door from the adjacent room was kicked open. In walked in a young man wearing baggy jeans, T-shirt, and a bright neon orange baseball cap. He looked like he just woke up from a nap as he had a slightly fatigued looked on his face. In his hands was a large bag of beef jerky, which he was absently munching on.

"Oh, hey bro!" The young man greeted as he lazily slinked up to the group. "I see you're back."

Marcus practically gritted his teeth into dust.

"GAH! Son of a— YOU!" Marcus, who was normally very relaxed, showed a fierce bit of rage as he violently threw down the fuel cell generator in his hands, making it shatter on impact. This made Hazel and the other women jump. Marcus rarely, if ever, let things bother him if he could help it. The head engineer stormed over to the equally stunned young man and slapped the bag of snacks out of his hands and hauled him up by his collar. Hazel often forgot that despite Marcus' lanky figure, he was very strong individual thanks to his demanding engineering job.

Sarah and Hazel were about to intervene before Julie pushed them back. At their questioning looks, Julie simply stated. "This is a family matter."

"You've got a LOT of nerve you son of a bitch!" The head engineer yelled at the younger man.

"Hey, let's leave mom out of this, eh Marcus?" the dangling man snarked.

"Ellis, I've been telling you this since we were kids. Don't eat my jerky and never _touch_ my stuff! I have a system!"

"Oh please, you never get around to all that crap. I just thought I would surprise my big brother with some organization." The young man—Ellis—innocently stated.

"GRRR! I'm gonna KILL YOU!"

Marcus looked ready to tear off his brother's head if something didn't come wandering in from outside. A large avian's face stuck his face into the room with curiosity.

"Hey guys! If anyone is getting killed, can I scavenge the loser?" Espantos innocently questioned.

"No, you can't," Hazel plainly said.

Before Marcus could resume his angry tirade, Julie managed to pry off her boss from murdering his brother. In recent times, Julie felt as if she was delegated to the Reys' personal mediator. She had to always prevent her boss from possibly strangling his younger sibling in his sleep; she didn't want murder to be on Marcus' conscious. As she pulled the older Rey brother back, Ellis went wide-eyed at the new creature in the workshop.

"Whoa… You look awesome dude!"

"Thanks, strange stranger person!" The Terror Bird cheered. "Hello, I'm Espantos! I'm a _Phorusrhacos_."

The rookie engineer gave a short wave. "Hey Espantos, my name's Ellis. I'm a human."

"Nice to meet you! Hey, do you want to be friends?"

"Sure. We can be best friends."

"Sorry, the Hazelnut is actually my best friend."

"Then I'll claim the next level up: 'Super AWESOME Best Friend'."

"That's not a real thing… Is it?"

"It should be."

"Yes! I have a Super Awesome Best Friend!" Espantos screamed out. While Ellis and Espantos' conversation was going on, Hazel and the others were amazed at how fast the two bounced off each other and how compatible they seemed. Espantos then cocked his head before asking, "Hey Ellis, wanna hang out? You can come with me on my courier route."

"Sure bud lead the way." The fast friends made their way to the exit. Ellis waved behind him to his stunned audience. "I'll see you at dinner Marcus! After, I'm going to finish cleaning the rest of this workshop."

"I told you not to touch my stuff!" Marcus called after his brother as he chased after him.

Julie sighed as she followed closely behind to make sure they don't kill each other.

Sarah was amazed at how close the 10-ft avian and rookie engineer had gotten.

Hazel was lamenting one crucial fact.

"Why do you remember _his_ name and not _my_ name!?"

 _ **Flashback end…**_

Hazel suppressed a sigh as she made her way to the lazy engineer. She knew he was a hard worker, it was getting him motivated enough to care was the problem. The Asian woman could honestly say that she has never met a more apathetic individual in her life. Marcus told her that it was a symptom of Ellis' ADHD. While it is commonly associated with hyper activity, ADHD can also cause a person to be incredibly lazy; something that Ellis had unfortunately inherited. Nevertheless, this was one of the people she was going to work with, so she might as well try to develop a tolerance to shenanigans.

With a strained smile, Hazel moved forward to the odd duo.

"Hello Ellis…"

"Oh, hey Boss!" The rookie engineer greeted as he took a sip of his pilfered soda. "Want some soda?"

"You do know you have to pay for those right?" Hazel deadpanned.

"I know," Ellis shrugged as he leaned back, "I put it all on Marcus' tab."

"Marcus doesn't have a tab."

"He does as of 3 months ago when I didn't have money for lunch."

' _Great. Not only is he lazy, he's manipulative.'_ The young woman said in her head.

"Anyways, what's up Boss? You didn't come here just for my good looks, did you?" Ellis narcissistically questioned.

"Don't flatter yourself Ellis," Hazel huffed. "I need your feathered best friend."

Espantos perked up from his snack as his "best friend" was talking about him.

"Sorry the Hazelnut. I like you, but only as a friend."

"I don't need you like _that_ birdbrain!" The Asian woman shouted. "Why does every creature I come across think I have a thing for other species?!"

"I'm not gonna touch that with a ten-foot pole. You do you." Ellis crudely chuckled.

"Shuttie…" Hazel grumbled. "I want Espantos to relay a message to the Residents about the upcoming transfer to a temporary off location facility in Alaska's past."

Both Ellis and Espantos stared blankly at Hazel.

With a groan, she took a moment before trying again.

"We're going on a fieldtrip…"

This got the duo's attention.

" **FIELDTRIP!** " The _Phorusrhacos_ cheered as he raced around his enclosure.

"This'll be interesting." Ellis admitted as he sat up to fully acknowledge his boss.

"Yes, this is why I need Espantos to inform all of the other Residents. I have some details that I want him to say." Hazel said as she pulled out a sizable list on how she wanted to transfer to go.

The rookie engineer shrugged as he leaned back and put on his headphones.

"Well good luck chasing him down then." Ellis said as he pointed over his shoulder down the road.

Following his finger, Hazel was dumbfounded as she saw that the Terror Bird was booking it down the road.

"How in the world did he get out of here so fast?! I took my eyes off him for like five seconds!" The leader in training shouted. Ellis just shrugged unhelpfully as he sipped his Dr. Pepper again.

"Eh, it's Espantos. Don't question it."

The young woman took off but paused at the exit of the enclosure and said, "Well, are you going to help me or not?!"

"Sorry, I'm on break. Don't worry, you got this."

Hazel growled but resumed her run. She honestly wasn't sure how she was going to work with such a lazy engineer.


	5. Rookies' First Day: Chris the 4 Protos

_**Darksage: Alright folks, here's the next chapter in LNoW. Besides the usual disclaimer, where we don't own Dinosaur, Prehistoric Park, Walking with Dinosaurs BBC and 2013, and Dinosaur Revolution, this chapter was written by Marc Ello. Big thank you to him!**_

 _ **Marc: Oh, you're too kind.**_

 _ **Darksage: You're welcome!**_

 _ **Both: Enjoy!**_

Prehistoric Park had many self-contained entertainment facilities for the employees to enjoy when they were off duty. One such area was a tasteful outdoor café that many keepers liked to stop at to drink coffee and unwind after their tiring jobs of caring for the park's Residents. Sitting on some café lounge chairs was Bob and his current apprentice of sorts, Chris Sinclair. They were currently relaxing, Bob with a mug of iced coffee and Chris sipping an iced chai-tea latte while reading a magazine on the latest of animal behavior _._

Nigel, accompanied by Bob, recruited the 24-year old rookie park keeper from Seattle's _Woodland Park Zoo_ nearly a year ago. He was one of the first new employees to be hired when Prehistoric Park gained the addition of Aladar and Neera's Herd. He was tall for his age, nearly 6 and a half feet tall. His casual wear composed of a white dry-fit polo shirt with black lining his sleeves, a pair of blue jeans, and simple black hiking boots. Chris wore around his neck a silver soccer whistle from his time as a trainer for his prior zookeeper job's wolves. It was given to him from his last supervisor at the Woodland Park Zoo he worked for before he was recruited for Prehistoric Park. It was supposed to be a sentimental gesture, he supposed, but Chris believed that his work should be reward enough. However, he was cordial enough to accept the silver training whistle without any qualms.

He also had red scarf tied around his waist in a sash-like fashion with the tails of the scarf tucked into it; one tail being slightly longer than the other trailing behind him. It was a keepsake from his Northwest home. With Washington being cold and rainy on most days, Chris wore his scarf to stave off the cold that the "Rainy City" threw at him. But in the vastly different South African heat, he wore his scarf around his waist instead.

Chris wasn't the most sociable of employees; the older park keeper admitted. He was constantly cynical about most things, had no reservations about being blunt, and the word "tact" and other such words were not part of the young man's personality. He had butted heads with Hazel enough times to gain her immediate disliking; and the girl was the most accepting and open employee ever! Their arguments were usually of their differing opinions on how to go about their jobs in Prehistoric Park. Hazel's stance being a kind and friendly approach, while Chris believing in a more strict order and hands off approach when dealing with the Residents; like how most zoos traditionally cared for animals.

Despite his distasteful personality, Chris was an outstanding worker. He kept up with repairs to broken enclosure fences, dutifully fed the Residents when required, and was at least cordial to other employees when on duty. Bob just couldn't understand how someone so dedicated to working with animals be so disillusioned with everything and everyone else.

Currently, Bob was informing Chris of the upcoming 2-year/3-month "Fieldtrip" to the past and the renovations taking place. As the senior keeper expected, Chris scoffed at the clearly inane and unorthodox plan of moving the Residents to Cretaceous period Alaska to what was dubbed "Temporary Park" by most of the employees.

"Well, I better find a time capsule and update my will. Because it's going to be sometime before some paleontologist digs it up after we all die." Chris deadpanned, finding more interest in the article he was reading than listening to the shoddy plan.

Bob sighed and shook his head, "Chris it's not like that. All you have to do is take care of the Residents for three months in the past, while the Park takes the two years to renovate in the present."

"God, these ' _Doctor Who'_ prefixes are gonna screw with everybody's heads. Why can't we just cart the Residents off to some place in the present and do the renovations like normal zookeepers?"

"We still have to keep Prehistoric Park under wraps from everyone. People are not ready to witness what we do."

Chris just rolled his eyes at the man sitting across from him as he set down his magazine and snagged up his beverage to take a sip.

"That's another thing! Why are we going about with all these cloak and dagger stuff? You do realize that this Park is going to be discovered by the public sooner or later. It's a matter of _when_ , not a matter of _if_. Whether it is uncovered by a satellite in space, drone cameras, or some dumb safari guide and his tourists that got lost from their beaten trails." The rookie keeper was on a roll now, again reiterating his belief of Prehistoric Park's inevitable reveal to the world.

When Chris was first hired and told of the park's secrecy on day one, he cynically believed that the park would never remain anonymous forever. He knew that the world was too small to ever hide something as grand as Prehistoric Park. Even being shown all of the preventative measures to mask the park from the outside world, the young man was always mentally counting down the days until Prehistoric Park's secret was blown right open. Despite his views on the matter, he took up the job anyway, even though Nigel was being secretive about where he was really working. Finding out about where he was working at did not happen until he arrived in the Park several months ago. Chris would have to be insane to turn down the once in a lifetime opportunity to see and care for prehistoric animals.

"Sinclair, we're not discussing that. We are discussing the fact that I nominated you to go to 'Temporary Park' in may stead as rookie head keeper while the Senior crew and I prepare the new changes to the park and plot out a migration route for Aladar and Neera's herd to take." Bob said to his apprentice.

"I don't see why I have to relocate and—"

"Do it, or you will be on babysitting duty for the _Protoceratops_ quadruplets until they reach adulthood." Bob's threat immediately killed off any protest that Chris might have said. If there was anything he despised anymore than Hazel and her pack of prehistoric troublemakers, it was babysitting those girls.

On his first day, Nigel had recently made a rule for any new keeper and/or employee to bond with and care for at least one of the Residents for 2 weeks before they officially got the job. It was a new procedure that he had put up and was experimenting for the time being. Being one to get jobs done promptly, Chris chose to care for the baby dinosaur sisters, believing it to be an easy task. How wrong he would be when he first received his Prehistoric Park Communicator.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Flashback… Chris Sinclair's first day on the job, several months ago…_

"Huh… Not a bad set up Mr. Marven built here." The newly hired Chris Sinclair commented as he took in the sights of Prehistoric Park's Hatchery. The Hatchery was created shortly after Bob raised and hatched the two _Ornithomimus_ chicks when their mother abandoned them. Its main purpose was to hatch any abandoned dinosaur eggs, raise the infants until they are old enough to be placed in an enclosure, and to monitor any illnesses that newly hatched Residents may catch. Chris was following his new superior to his charges for the next week, something that Bob was a tad apprehensive about.

"Are you sure you want to look after the girls?" Bob Arthur, Chris's new superior, glanced back to the rookie keeper as they reached the Protoceratops sisters' Hatchery room. "We can start you off with a more mature Resident to care for."

Chris, however, was adamant about his choice. "Mr. Arthur, I'm pretty sure I can take care of a few baby animals. I helped raise a juvenile Komodo Dragon and did obedience training for some of the canines at Woodland Park, I think I can handle four herbivorous reptiles." Bob was still hesitant, but relented after Chris' confidence in his choice.

"Alright, if you're sure." Before opening the Hatchery room, the Head keeper reached into his pocket to retrieve Chris' secondary perk of working in the Park. "Oh! Almost forgot. This will be yours if you are going to continue caring for the Residents."

Chris was curiously staring at the small earpiece in the palm of Bob's hand. Unlike Hazel's previous model, the current Communicator looked like an old person's hearing aid; not that Chris knew that. "Um… what is this? Like a mini walkie-talkie or something?"

Bob just chuckled as the young man picked up the earpiece to examine it closer. "Let's go with 'or something'. Now come on Chris. I'm sure Hazel and Suzanne would be more than happy for you to start your bonding time with the girls."

Shrugging at his new boss's rather cryptic answer, Chris followed Bob into the Hatchery room to greet a rather unusual sight. Two women, which Chris recognized as the head veterinarian and the other the young Asian girl Hazel, who he assumed was another keeper, were frantically chasing around the room the four baby ceratopsians. The _Protoceratops_ sisters were barking playfully and squealing each time they evaded the women, who were trying to get them to behave. The young dinosaurs were chewing at potted plants in the room, which made them tip over and scatter soil messily on the floor. Suzanne was holding a struggling _Protoceratops_ in her arms as she raced around the room.

"Please girls, it's time for your nap! No, no, no! Stop rolling around in the dirt! And you, stop squirming— OW! Hey, no biting!" The senior vet was forced to drop the little dinosaur in her arms when it nipped at her hand; not enough to be a serious injury, but enough to draw blood. The youngling landed on her feet and proceeded to chase her other sisters. Hazel was chasing around the other two sisters, while hastily correcting overturned potted plants and fixing whatever damage they caused.

"Little lady, just because you see your sister knocking over plants, doesn't mean it's okay for you to do it!" Hazel scolded one of the small prehistoric troublemakers. The ceratopsian didn't take any heed of the young woman's words as she bounded after one of her sisters to knock over more plants.

Chris took in the appearances of his soon to be charges. Each of them was an identical sandy-tan color, with two red circles on their crested-beaked heads. A closer look showed that each little hellion dinosaur had a different number of spots in the eyes of each red circle, numbering from 1 to 4, as the only way to differentiate them from each other; Chris guessed that it was some sort of birthmark for the younglings.

While he had no idea what to expect from the Park's prehistoric animals, it gave him a sense of familiarity of when he was working with unruly juvenile animals at the zoo. He supposed it made sense, given they were fairly young. Their cries and whines reminded Chris of the disorderly wolf pups he used to train for his former boss at the zoo's northwest animals exhibit.

Bob gestured for the rookie keeper to put in his new earpiece. Just as he put in and activated the tiny machine, the high-pitched primal barks and grunts were replaced with new gratingly shrill voices that he would be very familiar with for the next few days.

"You can't catch me! Nah, Nanah, Nah, Nah!"

"Come on! Let us play more! PLEASE!"

"WE DON'T WANNA TAKE A NAP!"

"AAAAAIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!"

Assaulting his ears were no longer the calls of a group of animals, now they were the shrill and shrieking pitch of what sounded like bratty preschoolers.

"What the HELL was that?!" He clutched his ears in surprise, at both the volume and sudden English-speaking animals.

"Those are your new charges Chris." Bob informed, "Who you can now understand completely thanks to our recently new gizmo, the Prehistoric Park Communicator. Now, you can understand all of the Residents as if they're speaking English."

Although he was dumbstruck at the mere fact that the Park has made such a revolutionary device, which should have been expected since they have a time machine essentially at their front door, Chris was a bit put off.

"I didn't sign up to be a babysitter!" The rookie keeper complained as he watched the quadruplets evading Hazel and Suzanne.

"I did recruit you because of your experience in caring for young animals. It is essentially the same thing Chris, now you have the added benefit of knowing what your charges say when they talk to you." The senior keeper tried to reassure the stunned rookie, but was interrupted by four little ceratopsians racing toward them.

The _Protoceratops_ girls crowded around Chris excitedly. They heard from Hazel that they would be getting a new caretaker and were excited to play with him. The prehistoric sisters raced and circled around his legs, trying to get Chris's attention first.

The eldest _Protoceratops_ , who had a single black dot in the middle of the red spots on her crest, cheerfully squealed. "Hi new keeperHI NEW KEEPER!"

With the oldest being the first one to greet him, the others followed suit.

"We're SO HAPPY you're here!" the two-dotted one greeted.

"Will you play with us? Can you get Ms. Suzanne and Hazel to let us skip naptime? Please, please, please, please, PLEASE!" The three-dotted _Protoceratops_ whined.

"What's your name? Where did you come from? You have a funny red tail!" The four-dotted sister squeaked as she tugged on the rookie's scarf that trailed behind him. Chris promptly tugged it out of reach before the scarf could be torn to pieces.

' _Well this is just great! I chose to be a zookeeper because I hate dealing with kids!'_ Chris internally yelled.

Suzanne and Hazel rushed up to the stunned rookie and amused senior park keeper, looking a little worse for wear; the ceratopsian sisters were practically bouncing around the rookie keeper.

"Bob, sorry we didn't see you there. As you could tell, me and Hazel had our hands full." Suzanne was a bit wilted and tired, trying to look presentable and not look like a frazzled mess. Hazel's hands were on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Even though the Hatchery room was not that big, chasing the quadruplets around the enclosed space became quickly tiresome.

"That's fine Suzy. Do you need some bandages? That cut is still bleeding." Bob asked in concern. Now that the vet's adrenaline was wearing off, Suzanne could now feel the sting of the wound she received from the youngling she held earlier.

"I guess I could use some bandages." Suzanne said.

Bob nodded and turned to the young woman. "Hazel can you get Chris here up to speed on what he's supposed to do?"

The 20-year old gave Bob a thumbs-up as he escorted Suzanne out to find bandages.

"Well, welcome to Prehistoric Park Chris. I'm Hazel Veran, Park manager and mediator for the Residents I guess, but you probably already know me because I handled the park tour for you the first day you came here." Hazel greeted the rookie keeper. "Nigel and Bob have said a lot of good things about you."

It was slightly awkward for Chris to comprehend due to the fact that even though Hazel was 3 years his junior and a full head shorter than him, she was technically his superior. Pushing that notion aside for the moment, the new keeper stuck out and shook the woman's hand in respect.

"Hello Ms. Veran. My name is Chris Sinclair, rookie keeper in training and I guess your new co-worker."

Introductions went off without a hitch, but it was interrupted when the four _Protoceratops_ younglings screamed for attention.

"Auntie Hazel! Play with us!"

"Help us rip up those plants!"

"Can the new guy run around with us!?"

"I WANNA SNACK!"

The young woman's expression turned to one of exasperation as she tried to give the rowdy herbivore sisters a kindly smile as they continued to beg, plead, and scream. "Girls, please. It is your naptime and I really don't think your behavior is going to get Chris to—"

 ***TTTWWWWEEEEEEEEETTTT!** *

Catching the young woman and ceratopsians by surprise was a piercing and shrill noise of a whistle. The girls turned to the source of the deafening noisemaker, and witnessed Chris Sinclair dropping the silver whistle around his neck to let it hang from the string of the necklace as he placed his hands on his hips. It was then that Hazel and the _Protoceratops_ girls noticed how towering the new man was, as he squared his shoulders and furrowed his brows in a glare. The 20-year-old girl couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear, but that was nothing when compared to the four sisters cowed into submission by the Seattle born park keeper's scowling features. Gone were the cordial tones that Chris displayed to Hazel. In its place was an aura akin to an enraged parent.

"It is time for your naptime _girls._ " Chris began with a slight edge to his voice. "I am going to be your caretaker for the next two weeks. And in those two weeks, I don't want to hear any whining. I don't want to hear any backtalk. And I don't want to see _any_ bad behavior. Now, off to bed…"

The little dinosaurs peeped timidly to their new _strict_ caretaker. "B-B-But mister Chris—"

"NOW!" Chris then unwound his scarf and used it as an impromptu whip, cracking it off to the side. The sudden crack of the fabric's tassels caused the four ceratopsians to yelp as they all ran to the safety of their beds to nap and get away from the scary human. Satisfied, Chris nodded to himself and swiftly tied his scarf back around his waist.

"There, that should do it." The 24-year old rookie said. He turned to the veteran 20-year old woman to ask about his other tasks, but was instead greeted with a furious scowl.

"What the hell was that?!" Hazel growled as she furrowed her brows.

"Asserting a firm presence." Chris promptly informed, confused at the sudden tonal shift. "I did something similar when I had to care for a pack of wolf pups. It made caring for them easier in the long run when they knew who was in charge."

"They are little girls! They don't need to be scared for their lives!" The young woman screamed at the man 3 years her senior.

"Oh yes. And that little display before I got here is much better." Chris rolled his eyes at the girl's seemingly naïve outlook. "What I'm doing is standard animal obedience training."

"That doesn't excuse the fact that you basically threatened them! They aren't dumb animals, they are thinking and sentient creatures like us thanks to the Park's technology."

"Well, that works out in my favor too. Parents need to be firm, as well as nurturing. People become 'good' after they are forced into good behavior. Didn't your mom and dad give you punishments for acting out of line when you were a kid? If not, then they must have been crap parents!" It was after Chris asked his hypothetical that the features on Hazel shifted.

She first gaped in sudden surprise, which was then followed by a brief flash of a mournful look. Then, the young woman's features burned in cold fury that now solely directed at Chris. With a scowl on her face, Hazel swiftly gave the rookie keeper his directions and tasks for caring for his charges.

She then shoved the keys to the Hatchery room into his hands before darkly uttering, "Welcome to the Park, _Sinclair._ "

Chris could practically hear the venom in her voice drenching his last name in and spitting at him like a filthy curse. As she was leaving the room, rather scornfully, Hazel roughly kicked over a particularly large potted plant; its contents spilling across the floor.

"Clean up this damn mess," the angered girl sharply ordered. Hazel then slammed the door behind her as she made her exit.

An annoyed scowl decorated Chris Sinclair's face as he made his way to retrieve a broom in the corner. Under his breath, the keeper muttered, "It's good to feel welcomed…"

 _ **End of Flashback…**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You're a very evil man, Bob," Chris commented after he recovered from his ruminations.

Despite his less than savory introduction to his fellow co-worker, Chris did an excellent job in caring for his _Protoceratops_ charges. Even the herbivorous girls appreciated his care, but they did develop an air of caution whenever the Seattle born keeper was assigned to them. Chris Sinclair didn't _hate_ his task, it was just that he couldn't stand inane childishness in the workplace. He never had that problem before, but now with the Communicator in his ear, he had to deal with every creature wanting to strike up a conversation when all he desired was completing his set tasks.

However, he was professional in his dealings with the undesirable parts of his job. What really irked him was the childish annoyance that was Hazel Veran. Ever since his first day, the two keepers were at odds with each other. She would always nearly bite his head off whenever they were forced to work with each other. In fairness, his naturally abrasive personality didn't exactly help matters as his snarkiness continued to belittle the Asian woman. He was still confused on how he managed to gain Hazel's absolute hatred.

Chris just groaned as he picked up his magazine again. "Fine, I'll do it. But when this all goes to hell, I reserve the right to say 'I told you so'."

"Good, I'll forward you your duties and responsibilities for Temporary Park," Bob said, glad that his subordinate finally saw things his way.

"' _Duties and responsibilities.' I can get behind that,"_ Chris thought, slightly at ease that he'll have some tangible goals and not left twisting in the wind once he got to the Cretaceous Arctic.

"And who knows," Bob continued as he set down his drink on the table. "When you complete this, you will be one step closer to being Head Keeper."

Chris rolled his eyes in good nature. Sometimes his boss said the craziest things. His ears perked up when he heard familiar squawking in the distance that was coming closer. The rookie keeper casually went back to his engaging article while he gingerly picked his iced chai tea off the table.

"Incoming."

As soon as Chris spoke, a familiar yellow and black Terror Bird came crashing through the outdoor café, scaring everyone who was unfortunately in his way. He squawked excitedly and scrambled on top of and over tabletops, knocking over the furniture in his wake. More precisely, he crashed through Bob and Chris' tabletop.

" **FIELD TRIP! FIELD TRIP! WOO HOO! YEAH!** " Espantos screamed happily at the top of his lungs before sprinting off down the road. Several moments later, Hazel wearily came to stop next to Chris and Bob's remnants of a table, panting with her hands on her knees.

"Stop! – _huff huff—_ Espantos!— _huff huff—_ Come back!" The tired girl called after the excited predator.

"Be sure to lift your knees while running Veran," The 24-year old quipped, eyes not leaving his magazine, as he took a sip of his drink.

"Shut up Chris!" Hazel growled at the older worker. She glared at his impassive form before running after the _Phorusrhacos_ again.

Chris Sinclair sighed as took another sip of his cold drink. "Oh yes, this is gonna be great…"


	6. Rookies' First Day: Daisy and Big Guy

_**Darksage: Hello folks! Another beautiful day today. The birds are singing. The flowers are blooming. The sun is shining. It's a lovely day to check out what's happening in Prehistoric Park. Now, before we continue onwards, we just want to make a quick announcement. I was just informed that today is Lucero002's birthday. Happy birthday! We hope your dreams come true today! Oh, and you should probably keep an eye on your doorstep. If you see a giant 10-foot-tall Terror Bird come in and make a racket with noisemakers and fireworks, just tranq him. He ate a stash of Marc's Hershey's chocolate.**_

 _ **Marc: Yeah! He and I have a score to settle!**_

 _ **Darksage: Anyway, Happy Birthday Lucero!**_

 _ **Marc: Yeah what she said**_ _ **. And you guys know the disclaimer, so I don't think we need to repeat ourselves.**_

 _ **Darksage: Enjoy the chapter!**_

The sun shined brightly overhead at Prehistoric Park's Savannah region. The golden grass swayed as the wind blew softly across the plains. The warmth the sun gave off a pleasant heat that was common for South Africa. It looked like a perfect day for anyone to enjoy.

Suzanne was in the driver's seat of one of the Park's jeeps and was accompanied by her latest rookie veterinarian, Daisy White. The Head veterinarian and rookie were checking up on the Residents of the Savannah region. They both finished their rounds at both Aladar's Herd Grounds and Mammoth Mount/Mujaji's Sisterhood; both areas' Residents appearing no worse for wear. The two women were now making their way to their last stop, the _Elasmotherium_ enclosure.

The older woman had to admit, her latest vet under her employ reminded her of when Hazel first joined Prehistoric Park. Daisy was a relatively petite 19-year old girl with a rather lithe built. The girl's chestnut-blonde hair covered her right eye like a veil and nearly reached the small of her back; an unusual hair color given the girl's Greek heritage. Daisy always seemed to wear tan colored shorts, the standard Prehistoric Park collared shirt, and a pair of light brown work boots.

Around the small girl's waist was a belt with a sizable fanny-pack that held all of the girl's first-aid and tools. Suzanne found her subordinate's unusual habit odd, but she chalked it up to the girl's frugal nature that she developed from her home country.

Resting on her slender neck was an odd blue glass pendant that depicted an eye—an "apotropaic talisman" if Suzanne remembered correctly. Having only been to Greece once, to recruit young Daisy, Suzanne understood that the little charm was a local Greek superstition that would ward off evil and was often worn as a good luck charm. The young woman would thumb her pendant when she was deep in thought or nervous about something.

The Head Vet hired Daisy straight from a veterinarian school in Athens, Greece. Suzanne didn't think she would find any candidates to enter the Park's ranks in the Grecian city, but Daisy stood out from amongst her peers. The blonde Greek girl's skills as a vet were comparable to her own when Suzanne was in veterinarian school.

" _Now if I can only do something about her confidence issues._ " Suzanne thought to herself as she peered at the rookie vet from the corner of her eye.

Even after she gained employment to the Park and was sworn into secrecy, Daisy White was extremely worried a majority of the time. She would always doubt and second-guess herself and always ask if her work was pleasing to Suzanne; despite saying the girl's work was perfect. Right now, Daisy was fiddling with the contents of her fanny-pack for the third time since the beginning of their drive, probably counting all of her supplies again. The girl's timid nature made it difficult to connect to her peers, both the human employees AND Residents. All except one.

As soon as the two pulled up to the _Elasmotherium_ enclosure, Daisy began to perk up ever so slightly. The timid blonde was the first to exit the jeep and spotted the burly, wooly form of the Ice Age rhinoceros. He was currently eating some Savannah grass near the fencing and an enormous boulder that sat just outside the enclosure.

Cupping her hands over her mouth she called out to the intimidating herbivore. " _Geía sas kyrie Kérato!_ " (Hello Mister Horn!)

Suzanne discovered that her timid charge often reverted back to her native Greek language if she was comfortable around people she trusted— which was few and far in between— or if she was stressed and rambling. And from the look of comfort adorning Daisy's face as she made her way to the elephantine rhino, the head vet was betting on the former. What Daisy said was a complete mystery to her, the Communicators apparently didn't translate other human languages to English, the violence inclined mega-fauna could apparently understand, or at least feel, the meaning behind the young Grecian's words as he simply grunted and padded closer to the fence where Suzanne's charge happily stood.

"Ah, there you are White. About freaking time," the _Elasmotherium_ rumbled in his deep bass-like voice. He swung his horn massive 7-foot horn forward and stopped in mere inches from the 19-year old's own 5' 7" form. "Get to work girl."

If Suzanne were in Daisy's shoes, she would have at least have been startled and stumbled back in surprise. Daisy merely gave a warm smile, as she understood what the massive rhino desired. The girl searched her fanny-pack for a moment before pulling out a 12-in file more commonly used in carpentry and a small towel before scaling the large boulder off to her left; the _Elasmotherium's_ horn following her in her wake. As soon as she finished her small climb, Daisy turned and proceeded to use the carpenter file to shear off the rhino's keratin horn, sharpening it for him.

"Just a little off the top White," the brown furred herbivore said as her laid down on the grass to relax while Daisy continued her ministrations.

"Don't worry," Daisy called out with her demure, bell-like accented voice while wiping away the excess horn shavings away with her towel. "I'll make it shine."

The head vet watched her timid charge's motions sharpening the rhino's horn like a Renaissance artist for a few moments before trekking towards the Ice Age mammal's head.

"Afternoon, and how are you doing today Kerato?" Suzanne asked the relaxed Mega-Fauna.

The _Elasmotherium,_ slightly disgruntled at the interruption of his care under Daisy, simply grunted.

"Doc," the rhino curtly responded with a slight nod, nearly batting Daisy off of her perch from the end of his horn.

If there was one thing that Daisy has managed to accomplish that all of the other employees of Prehistoric Park didn't, it was discovering the massive Mega-Fauna's name. After years of not giving or figuring out his name, Daisy managed to get it out of him on her first day. Suzanne was honestly worried that the young Greek girl might have bitten off more than she could chew when she chose Kerato as her starter Resident care provider. But the hulking goliath Kerato and petite Daisy somehow bonded enough for them to be friends; or at the very least cordial in Kerato's case.

As Suzanne continued her routine medical questioning, Daisy was also reminiscing about her first day working for Prehistoric Park.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Flashback… Daisy White's first day on the job, several months ago…_

"Ms. White, are you absolutely sure you want to care for _this_ Resident?" Suzanne, Daisy's new superior and boss, asked with concern.

If Daisy was completely honest with herself, she had no idea what possessed her to make her choice either. Maybe it was the desire to impress Suzanne with her capableness of handling the ornery Ice Age rhino, Daisy wasn't sure.

The young Greek girl was still rather timid among her peers, even that cheery and welcoming Filipino girl made Daisy shrink back in shyness. What was her name again? Hera? Hannah? Hansel? Daisy couldn't remember. She understood English well enough, but being thrown from her familiar Grecian community to South Africa was a bit of an adjustment for her. Plus, the Asian girl's obvious American accent threw Daisy off even more.

But despite the warnings, the blonde Athenian chose the difficult Mega-Fauna to kick off her career for Prehistoric Park. Daisy turned to her superior to reaffirm her of her choice.

" _Tha eímai entáxei_ —Ah, I mean, 'I will be okay,'" Daisy answered, correcting herself to speak in English. She could thank her nerves for stressing out over her self-imposed task. It wasn't Daisy's fault that the English language was so strange. "I already made my choice. If I have any problems, I'll contact you with my walkie, I promise," the young woman said as she gestured to the radio on the side of her belt.

Still not totally convinced but deciding to agree, Suzanne nodded as they finally reached the _Elasmotherium_ enclosure. As they exited their vehicle, Daisy was blown away by what greeted her.

Standing just mere feet away was a huge titan of shaggy brown fur, muscle, and Ice Age fat. What completed the image was the massive 7-foot black spire of keratin that grew from the beast's snout. This was Daisy's first time getting this close to any of the Residents of the park. Now that she was basically right next to the elephant-sized Mega-Fauna, Daisy was beginning to have second thoughts about caring for the _Elasmotherium._

" _Sweet merciful Athena! I can barely reach this thing's eyes!"_ Daisy screamed inwardly. If her petite stature was evident to anyone, then it was obvious now when comparing her 5'7" stature to the _Elasmotherium's_ dwarfing 10-foot height. The beast of a rhino noticed the two women approaching and immediately started to grunt and snarl at them.

" **GRROOOAAANN! GRuuuUNT GRuuUUNT! GRRROAAANN!** "

After a startled shriek, Daisy quickly hid behind Suzanne. Suzanne, on the other hand, released a weary sigh and began to _talk_ to the massive rhino.

"It's already been decided Big Guy. Nigel wants to use this as a way to help integrate the new staff members of the park and form bonds of solidarity between Residents and keepers," Suzanne simply informed. To Daisy's surprise, the _Elasmotherium_ grunted and a look of annoyance crossed its face before continuing.

" **GGRROOAANNNn! Grun-GROOANNn!"**

Suzanne looked slightly cross as well as she furrowed her eyebrows. "It was completely voluntary. I'm sure Hazel or someone else informed you of it."

" **GRRROOooaaan.** "

The strangeness of the situation finally getting to her, Daisy found enough courage to pipe up to her boss' seemingly one-sided conversation with an animal.

"Umm… Dr. McNabb… Are you okay?" the Grecian rookie vet gingerly asked. "Why are you talking to the rhino?"

Suzanne, now realizing her blunder, gave herself a face palm.

"Oh right, I forgot," the vet said, embarrassment evident in her tone. She retrieved a miniscule earpiece from her pocket and presented it to Daisy. "Before you begin your work, this is for you."

The rookie vet took the offered earpiece as tried to figure how it rested in her ear.

"What is this thing?" Daisy curiously asked as she finally placed the device in a comfortable position in her ear.

"This Communicator will allow you to completely understand any and all animal wildlife as if they were speaking to you in plain old English." The Head vet simply informed. Daisy arched a brow, skepticism evident on her face.

"Really?" the Greek girl asked, her finger accidently brushing the Communicator's 'On' switch. Suzanne gave a confident smile.

"Really. Don't believe me, you can ask Big Guy here," Suzanne gestured to the _Elasmotherium._ "Say hello Big Guy."

" **GGRROOA—** hut up and don't bother me," the Mega-Fauna gruffly said, now revealed in English.

"Oh my Gods!" Daisy shrieked out again, this time in surprise and amazement. "You're talking? By the Pantheon! YOU! ARE! TALKING! How in the world did the Park make this? Oh my goodness! This is amazing!"

The _Elasmotherium's_ ears folded back from the sudden shrillness that came from the petite girl before grunting, "Hey short-stack, pipe down would ya?! My ears are damn sensitive! I don't want to be blind AND deaf!"

Daisy immediately retreated into herself, shrinking from the mammal's sudden scolding. Suzanne on the other hand, glared at the Ice Age herbivore.

"Hey! That was uncalled for! Daisy was just excited about this new experience. There's no need to snap at her like that, Big Guy," the senior vet scolded the giant herbivore.

Not that she knew, but the Ice Age rhino understood what Suzanne's position as a veterinarian entailed. Because of that, he gave her the most respect when compared to all of the other staff members of Prehistoric Park; including the common staff, Nigel's Senior Crew, and that brat Hazel. Of course, it was only a slight modicum of respect, but it was respect nonetheless.

"Hmph!" the Mega-Fauna huffed as he turned away from the conversation that had lost his interest.

Suzanne turned back apologetically to Daisy, saying, "I know that you had your sights set on the Big Guy Ms. White, but he is very dangerous to be around. Even for the veteran staff members that have been here for years."

Daisy just shook her head.

"No, it's my fault. Modern rhinos only have their nose and ears to rely on; I assume the same could be said for our prehistoric friend. I should have known better than to scream at the top of my lungs around a rhino." Daisy looked back to the annoyed _Elasmotherium_ as a remorseful look graced her face. "I'm sorry sir…"

Both Head vet and Mega-Fauna were silent.

Suzanne was simply amazed that the young girl in front of her didn't immediately shirk off her promise of caring for the less than amicable herbivore that even the most experienced keepers had problems with. The head vet didn't expect the soft-spoken girl to be able to take the _Elasmotherium's_ gruff attitude in stride.

The _Elasmotherium_ on the other hand was dumbfounded. The Mega-Fauna witnessed two reactions when he dealt with humans: massive amounts of trepidation and annoyance at his unyieldingly stubborn attitude. Never before was there a middle ground. Sure that annoyingly chipper Hazel-girl made numerous attempts to get on his good side, all of which he shot down and nearly gored her for, but this Daisy-girl's mere presence surprisingly didn't irk him right away. The Ice Age herbivore chalked it up to her extremely meek demeanor that the tiny girl seemed to exude in droves. To put it bluntly in his standards, Daisy was too pathetic for the _Elasmotherium_ to be remotely frustrated with.

He just huffed as he accepted the Grecian girl's apology. Suzanne, after another attempt to dissuade the park vet hopeful, gave Daisy the proverbial keys to the Pleistocene rhino's wellbeing. As the head vet drove off to perform her other duties, Daisy turned back to the brown furred rhino with a gentle smile gracing her face.

"I guess it's just you and me now," Daisy commented. "If you need something, don't hesitate to ask!"

The Ice Age mammal snorted dismissively. "Then I'll be sure to not need anything."

The rookie vet's kindly expression fell slightly at being dismissed before recovering. "Um…Well, if you change your mind, I'll be over here."

The young girl wandered over to a large boulder near the fence line and plopped down to the ground crossing her legs; her eager-to-please expression not leaving her features. The grumpy Resident huffed as he wandered through his enclosure to go about his business.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Elasmotherium Enclosure… 10 hours later…._

If there was one thing the Ice Age Resident could commend his new babysitter of, it was her sheer tenacity. Young Daisy was dropped off at his enclosure at 7a.m. and was dutifully on standby to wait on the bull _Elasmotherium_ at a moment's notice. He would have forgotten about her completely if he didn't glance in the young woman's direction throughout his day. It was now 5p.m, Prehistoric Park employees preparing to complete their final tasks and end their day, and the rookie vet was still stationed on the ground, leaning against the large boulder.

Despite wanting to remain alert, the Greek born girl dozed off a few hours prior. That suited the gruff male just fine; at least the girl didn't snore and was silent in her slumber. He lumbered up and began to appraise a sizable marula tree. Not for its leafy greens, but for the durability of its trunk. The prehistoric rhinoceros was beginning the difficult task of his evening ritual: horn maintenance.

Like his modern day relatives, the _Elasmotherium's_ gargantuan horn was made up of keratin— the same substance of hair and rhino horns. And like hair, his horn needed to be cleaned and worn down to its manageable 7-foot length. The only frustrating part of the task was finding something that wouldn't break under the strength he put into scraping his horn clean. Gingerly, the furred mammal began minutely shifting his head up and down; determined to get his horn chiseled down to his liking. Just as he was on his fifth stroke, the telltale creaking came from the marula tree. The next moment, the once sturdy foliage came crashing down.

The Ice Age rhino clenched his teeth in rage. "SPIRITS DAMN IT!"

His sudden outburst jarred Daisy out of her restful sleep, making her heart skip a beat in surprise. After a slight yawn, the rookie vet rubbed the fatigue from her eyes before baring witness to the Mega-Fauna angrily pacing before the splintered stump of a former tree, cursing under his breath. Before he could continue berating his foliage victim, Daisy strode up to the wood fence line.

"Is everything alright?" The Greek girl shyly asked.

"Everything's just _fine,_ short-stack. I'm just yelling at this downed tree for _no reason_!" The bull rhino bellowed, frustration evident as he harshly kicked the downed trunk of the marula in anger.

Quelling a stab of trepidation from the aggressive herbivore, Daisy asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

He would have just ignored the petite human and continued to rage against the broken tree. However, after many failed attempts to successfully find a permanent horn carving area, the Ice Age mammal was at his wits end. With great reluctance he turned to the 18-year old with a weary sigh.

"How good are you with carving horns, White?" The Pleistocene herbivore asked, swallowing his pride for the moment.

The rookie vet, caught off guard by the odd request, blinked owlishly for a moment before responding.

"Um… I've never carved horns before," Daisy began, which earned her a frustrated grunt from her Mega-Fauna charge. "But I did take a woodcarving class when I was in grade school and my great-uncle Nikos showed me how to carve stuff into bones and pieces of… _ivory_ …" As soon as her mind caught up to her words, she realized how inappropriate her uncle's past as an ivory carver was now that she was talking to a creature that could verbally take offense to it. However, if the herbivore cared, he didn't say a thing.

"Hmph, it'll do," the Ice Age rhino grunted as he neared the miniscule girl. "Grab a rock or something and start carving, short-stack."

The Athenian girl was taken aback that the rhino was actually requesting her to assist him. But another part of her was cheering at the fact that, as far as she knew, she was the only park employee to get anywhere positive with the stubborn _Elasmotherium._

"Right away sir," Daisy happily said.

She retrieved a rugged stone that was a bit larger than both of her hands and began dutifully scraping away at the Mega-Fauna's horn. The male had to admit, even though the miniscule human took longer than he would have liked, Daisy was shaving and reaching places where he couldn't normally reach and as a result, made his horn well managed; for a human that is.

As the Ice Age mammal was under the rookie vet's meticulous treatment, Daisy herself was completely honed in on her job. She would at times break the silence when she asked where else the grumpy rhino needed to clean his horn, which he would grunt out a simple response.

Since the male wasn't much for conversation, Daisy was forced to take the initiative and tried to strike up a conversation. It didn't work out too well since the _Elasmotherium_ would either give curt responses or completely ignore Daisy all together. This resulted in many one-sided conversations on Daisy's part, but she was at least doing something right; the ornery male didn't attempt to scare her off yet.

As she dutifully scraped away at the rhino's horn, the Athens born rookie veterinarian reverted back to her native Greek language and continued her one-sided conversations. Daisy found speaking in English strange, even after learning the ins and outs of the language. So whenever possible, Daisy would speak Greek to make her feel more at home. The rookie vet figured since her charge was being uncooperative, there was no harm in making herself comfortable and continuing in her native language.

Although the wooly rhino had no idea what the strange sounds the tiny human was producing, he had to admit, it was a more soothing to his ears than the grating language that the other keepers used. In fact it reminded the male of his past—.

" _Tha prépei na deíchnoun kalá gia tis kyríes, dexiá kyrie goúnino Kérato?"_ (You have to look good for the ladies, right mister furry horn?)

"What the—! What did you just say?" The Ice Age mammal suddenly jerked up his head, nearly toppling Daisy over from the unexpected action.

"OH- UM… I didn't think that you understood me! I'm sorry! If me calling you—"

"Quiet short-stack. I have no idea what you said earlier," the _Elasmotherium_ cut off the Grecian girl's ramblings. "I meant that last word you said. What was it?"

Daisy, relieved that she didn't anger her prehistoric charge, racked her brain on what she said. "It was my people's language for the word 'Horn': _Kérato._ "

"Kerato…"

There was a beat between the two. The Ice Age male was currently deep in thought and gained a far off look as he recalled his time before coming to Prehistoric Park. Daisy mistook the intense silence as him stewing in anger as she promptly began apologizing.

"I'm sorry that I insulted you sir. If my language is making you uncomfortable, I can—"

"That's my name…" the wooly rhino softly said.

"I'm sorry?"

Snapping out from his thoughts, the _Elasmotherium_ actually looked flabbergasted for the first time in his life; not that the rookie vet knew.

"I mean— If you're gonna keep coming back here, then 'Kerato' seems like a suitable name." the now named Kerato grunted.

Despite the confusion she felt at first, Daisy inwardly grinned in victory that she managed to somehow get into the _Elasmotherium's_ good graces. Returning back to her task of carving, Daisy tested the taste of the male's new name, "Hmm… _Kérato_ … It suits you Big Gu— I mean, it suits you Kerato."

"Just make sure to get all that dust off my horn Daisy," the newly minted Kerato said, as he settled back to the ground.

Daisy smiled and continued her carving, "Don't worry, I'll make it shine."

Her task continued even after the sun went down over the horizon. Daisy smiled, finally feeling that she was being of some assistance. Distracted from her task, the Greek girl completely missed the small genuine smile coming from the brutish rhino.

 _ **End of flashback…**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"—aisy? Daisy? **DAISY**!"

The blonde Athenian was brought out of her reminiscing by her Ice Age charge. By the sounds of his irritated promptings, he was attempting to get her attention for some time. Daisy had the decency to look embarrassed as she focused her attention back to Suzanne and Kerato.

"Sorry about that. I was in my own little world," the rookie vet said sheepishly. "What were you saying?"

Suzanne spoke up to inform Daisy in what she missed. "I was telling you that the Park is going to be transporting the Residents to the temporary facility in Alaska during the Cretaceous period. And I want you to be the Head Veterinarian for the duration of your time at 'Temporary Park'."

The young Grecian went bug-eyed at this declaration.

"W-W-What! ME?! HEAD VET?!"

"Don't worry Daisy. I know you're worried but it isn't much different than what you do now. And it's only for two months. Think of it as practice for when you take my place as Head Veterinarian in the future for the main park," Suzanne reassured her protégé.

"Come on Short-stack, not even you can screw this up," Kerato roughly grunted. Despite the tactless answer, Daisy chose to view it as the Ice Age mammal giving her his vote of confidence in his own personal way.

"A-Alright… If you guys say so. I just hope—."

" **FIELD TRIP!** "

Shocking the group out of their conversation was the zany _Phorusrhacos_ making a beeline across Kerato's enclosure. Espantos' antics were so commonplace that Suzanne could only grin at the speeding Terror Bird. Daisy, still being relatively new, yelped in fear as the yellow Miocene predator zoomed past the trio. Kerato merely groaned as he simply browsed the ground for grass in an attempt to ignore Espantos.

" **WE! ARE GOING! TO! A** _ **FIELD**_ **! WOO HOO!** "

"GET BACK HERE YOU CRAZY TURKEY!"

In pursuit of the zany _Phorusrhacos_ was a very frustrated Hazel Veran gripping the shoulder of an equally irritated Marcus as they both rode on his ATV, Marcus driving while Hazel wielded a tranq-rifle, firing shot after shot at the exuberant Terror Bird; each missing their mark.

"HOLD STILL DAMN IT!"

"Hazel, I REALLY have to get back to work," Marcus droned.

"Quiet you! AFTER HIM!"

With a roll of his eyes, Marcus just revved his engine and shot forward with Hazel resuming her shooting. All of their wacky shenanigans were being witnessed by one smiling senior veterinarian, one flabbergasted rookie, and one indifferent _Elasmotherium_.

"Dr. McNabb, was that Hazel that passed by?" Daisy asked.

"Yup," she confirmed with a nod. "She was the one that led the rescue mission into the Jurassic period recently."

"Ah, so that's why she looked familiar," a sense of understanding overcame her.

"She will be in charge of Temporary Park when you and the volunteers go to prehistoric Alaska," the head vet added.

The Athenian had uncertainty chiseled onto her face, but took a breath to calm herself. "Well, I guess being Head Vet will be okay. As long as you're there for me in case I need help."

Suzanne at this moment hated dropping yet another bomb on her timid protégé.

"Actually Daisy, myself and the senior crew have to stay in the Present. We need to make sure the renovations are properly put into place."

"W-WHAT!?"

Kerato just huffed at Daisy's surprise.

"Relax Short-stack. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"


	7. Pack Your Bags

_**A.N. Nothing really much to say here, except we don't own Dinosaur, Prehistoric Park, Walking with Dinosaurs (2013 and BBC), and Dinosaur Revolution. Also, the behaviors that a couple of the certain Residents in this chapter we based on husky dog behavior. Finally, this chapter was all written by Marc Ello. Enjoy!**_

" **FIELDTRIP! FIELDTRI—!"**

 ***THWIPTHWIPTHWIP!***

Espantos flinched at several sharp pains in his neck. It took him a second to realize that he had been tranqed, but too little too late. The Terror Bird collapsed in front of the startled group of pachyderms. A little ways away were a small group of keepers led by Hazel lowered their rifles and approached the downed bird.

"Dang bird! Making me run!" The time traveler huffed as she and the others began to lift the unconscious _Phorusrhacos_ and carry him off to one of their trucks. Looking over her shoulders, Hazel shouted. "Sorry for the surprise Mujaji! Martha! We need to make sure that everyone's ready for the trip to the past."

After the humans drove off, the elephantine mammals returned to their conversation. Coincidently, they too were discussing the future travel arrangements for all the Residents. Right now, they were discussing where the Sisterhood stands for the Alaskan trip. While Martha the Mammoth was obligated to travel to the past, the modern-day elephants technically didn't need to travel.

"From what I heard, this 'Alaska' place is a lot colder than our home." A random elephant commented.

"But we are going to the summer season. It is cooler, but more like Africa's winter season." Martha retorted. "Besides, it won't be too bad; cool weather would be refreshing. And change of scenery would be good for all of us."

Martha was deeply invested in visiting the Pacific Northwest; even if it was in the past. When she discovered that this "Alaska" had similar conditions to her old time period's weather, she jumped at the chance to try to convince her sisters to travel with her. At the Sisterhood's reluctant looks, Mikiya decided to speak up.

"Come on Mama! It'll be an adventure! We would be the first elephant herd to be TIME TRAVELERS!" The little pachyderm excitedly cheered.

As her second and her daughter begged, Mujaji was contemplating her options. Admittedly, she too was curious about what those foreign lands had to offer. The Matriarch tends to consider Martha's point of view most times, and she would practically bend over backwards for her daughter's happiness. Unfortunately, her Sisterhood knew how she felt about the two as well.

As she looked ready to agree, one of Mujaji's older members trudged up to face her Matriarch.

"Matriarch, now is not the time to gallivant off to times not our own. It is nearly Mating Season, and many of the girls want their chance at motherhood. We can't do that if we are not present for the two years we are gone." The sister elephant scolded.

The Matriarch's eyes widened in surprise. She had completely forgotten about Mating Season. She knew most Matriarchs' presence was mandatory when it was Mating Season. Mujaji was still somewhat of a young leader of her Sisterhood, so she wasn't exactly well versed on the old traditions of her herd. Many females tend to attend these mating gatherings to further continue their lineage. Mujaji was satisfied with Mikiya now; if she had another rambunctious child, she _might_ go insane. So, with a heavy heart, Mujaji nodded in agreement.

"You are right sister. I suppose I have to attend." Mujaji turned to her pseudo-family: Martha and Mikiya. "I am sorry you two, but we cannot move the Sisterhood when such an important gathering is so soon."

"Understood Mujaji…" Martha sighed. While she wanted to visit a place with a cooler climate, she was sad that her new family did not wish to accompany her. She was probably expecting too much considering the Sisterhood was practically afraid of their own shadows. The kindly Mammoth may not have liked it but accepted it. Mikiya on the other hand, wasn't having any of it.

"But Mama! I want to time travel!" The little calf whined.

"I'm sorry _ndama_ , but the herd cannot travel at this time." The Matriarch told her daughter.

"B-But my friends are all going. And when they come back I'll be older than them!" Mikiya yelled as she kicked a stone on the ground in frustration. "It's not fair!"

"Mikiya, _tamaa mtoto_ (calm yourself child)," Mujaji sternly said. With a sigh, Mujaji motioned with her trunk to the general direction of the Park. "Okay _ndama_ , how about this. From now until the Rift Creatures leave, you can hang out with them as long as you like."

With a frustrated huff, Mikiya wandered off to the Herd Grounds, most likely to spend her remaining time with her friends. The Matriarch sighed and motioned the rest of her Sisterhood to disperse. Reading the atmosphere, the elephants walked off so they could not anger their leader. Mujaji felt a familiar trunk on her shoulder, patting it reassuredly.

"Do you need anything of me Mujaji?" Martha asked.

"No my sister, I'm fine. It's just hard being a Matriarch AND a mother sometimes."

The Mammoth chuckled. "I do not envy you."

Both shared a brief laugh before Mujaji gestured to Martha towards Prehistoric Park.

"You should get ready for your journey too my friend."

"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." Martha then giggled. "On the plus side, I'll be able to hold onto my youth for a few years."

" _Kuwezesha wewe_ (Quiet you)," Mujaji scoffed as she playfully smacked her trunk on Martha's side. "Now away with you to the Elephant House and pack your things. I'm sure the humans would want your input."

"Okay, okay, I'm going." Martha said as she strode off to her destination. "Be sure to keep a close eye on Mikiya. The calf might do something crazy without her auntie to dote on her."

With a shake of her head, Mujaji wandered off as well, mentally preparing herself for the interesting 2 years that the Park elephants will face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Meanwhile at Big Cat Climb..._

As many of the Residents went about their day, preparing to travel to the past, Big Cat Climb's atmosphere was uncharacteristically tense. The mature _Smilodons_ were led out to one of the Park's food storehouses, so they could tell the humans what meals they wanted for the trip. To do this, Sabrina and César were led out while wearing collars and leashes. César found it utterly degrading but went along with it as he and his mate completed their task. While the adults were busy supervising the humans handling their possessions, the cubs were trying to sort out the pet toys that they wanted to bring. The twins have grown since they were born. From tiny kitten sized _Smilodons_ to sizable golden retriever size; Tai and Sable still had room to grow.

Right now, Tai was busy pulling various hardy dog toys into discernable piles. He wanted to bring his favorite rope toy that he used for teething. But no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find it.

"Sis have you seen my rope toy? I want to bring it for the trip." Tai questioned irritably.

"We have like a bazillion toys Tai." Sable retorted as she chewed on what looked like a loose bundle of string. "Just pick something else."

He was about to retort before he noticed the white and red stings that laid in his sister's paws. Stalking up to Sable, Tai's blood grew hotter with each step.

"That was MY rope toy!" The male Saber Cat roared in her face.

"Too bad. I needed it to teethe. My fangs are killing me." Sable complained as she chews on the rope again, trying to relieve the pain of her teeth; specifically, her canines.

"Well, it's mine! I'm taking it!"

Sable stood up and surprisingly snarled at her brother, baring her still growing fangs in a threatening manner.

"I think you need to take a hike dweeb!"

The growing _Smilodon_ huntress leaped at the surprised Tai. Tai recovered and began kicking and clawing at his aggressive sister. Both budding Sabertooth Cats fought each other before, as siblings usually do, but this was the first it has gotten _this_ violent. Their snarls and hisses got the attention of passing employees. As they got on their radios to report the fight happening, Prehistoric Park's Head Veterinarian Suzanne McNabb quickly unlocked the gates to the cubs' enclosure to try to intervene.

"Tai, Sable! That is enough!" The senior vet shouted.

Suzanne tried to get in between the cub, pulling them apart. She managed to separate them, but only for a moment. They lunged at each other again, but not without accidently hooking their claws into Suzanne's arms and leaving shallow cuts on it. Flinching, Suzanne backed off from the battling siblings. Before she could attempt to pull them apart again, the gates violently erupted open and a brown blur tackled the overly aggressive Sable from sinking her teeth into her brother. When Suzanne looked again, she saw Sabrina in all her glory standing over the struggling cub with a paw pinning the younger cat down; the viciousness was tempered in part of the collar and leash dangling from her neck.

The adult _Smilodon_ pinned her ears against her head and bared her saber fangs at the rebellious teenaged cub, but Sable was still struggling and snarling in defiance to the older Saber Cat. Suzanne could almost see Sabrina rolling her eyes before the Saber Cat lunged forward with her teeth. The mature _Smilodon_ nipped at the young Saber Cub's head—specifically her ear—, which earned the Huntress a yelp from the young cub. Tai was off to the side, witnessing his sister getting manhandled by their older neighbor and Sable immediately going prone after Sabrina's bite.

Before he could consider helping his sister, a male voice called out and said, "I wouldn't if I were you, brat. Sabrina gets her way, no matter what. Trust me, I'm practically an expert on this."

In came walking César on a leash with Sarah the Vice Veterinarian leading him, alongside a few keepers with tranq-rifles cautiously aimed at Sabrina. Seeing the guns aimed at his mate, César scoffed and spoke up.

"Put down your sticks, humans. It's just some corporeal punishment happening. Nothing to get so worked up about."

Although the employees were unsure of taking the Pleistocene predator's suggestion, Suzanne gave a nod and told them to lower their rifles. It was still an adjustment to listen to the Residents' advice, but so far, they have been nothing but truthful in their actions.

Sabrina huffed in irritation before stepping off of Sable's stomach.

"Be nice to your sibling, kitten." The _Smilodon_ airily said. She then pushed her paw to Sable's side to flip her right side up and prompted her in the direction of her brother. "Now go to your brother and apologize, then get your things to the waiting area."

Sable squeaked out a meek okay before scampering off to her brother. They forgave each other quickly before picking up a random toy on the ground and ran towards the gate.

The Saber Cat Huntress' eyes then fell to her leashed mate.

"César be a dear and escort the cubs to the waiting area."

Knowing better than to argue, the male _Smilodon_ began to walk off with the Twins in tow. His strength was evident as the Keeper who was holding César's leash was practically dragged behind the retreating Sabers effortlessly. Sarah called off the rest of the employees and they began to file out of the enclosure, having other duties to attend to. Sabrina was watching the three other Saber Cats leave, a look of longing as she watched the retreating cubs.

"So, what was that about?"

Sabrina's focus was broken as Suzanne walked up to her side. The _Smilodon_ and human vet had an interesting relationship. They were both somewhat connected ever since Sabrina gave birth to her cubs. Even before they could communicate to each other, Suzanne gave a bit more care for the absent mother and Sabrina was cordial enough to the female that was willing to raise her kids for her. In short, they had an odd kinship.

"I was simply curbing some bad behavior." Sabrina said. "I was a problem child myself growing up, and my mother had to nip my ear many, _many_ times."

"I didn't know that was how Saber Cats disciplined cubs." Suzanne commented.

"Well, you've never asked. Sabers usually instill proper manners and behaviors in their cubs at a younger age than the Twins. I would have done it sooner if it wasn't for some… personal difficulties on my part."

The way Sabrina stumbled for words near the end of her sentence was all Suzanne needed to hear to confirm that the _Smilodon_ huntress longed to connect to the cubs she birthed. The head vet embraced Sabrina with one arm and scratched behind her ear, earning her a purr in appreciation. Suzanne had an inkling of what was bothering the Saber Cat, knowing her history and the tragic events that led to her rescue, and wanted help the Pleistocene Resident with her troubles. Suddenly, Suzanne remembered about the upcoming trip and how it would help the estranged family.

"You know, I won't be able to travel to the past with the others." Suzanne mentioned.

"Yes dear, I am well aware." Sabrina replied, arching a brow in confusion.

"And I may need someone to watch over Tai and Sable. _Someone_ who can who can curb those bad behaviors, something like a _mother_ would do." The head vet subtly suggested, earning an owlish blink from the _Smilodon_. "You wouldn't happen to know anyone up to the task, would you?"

Sabrina picked up on Suzanne's prompts. Realizing that this could be the chance she had been looking for to reconnect with her cubs, Sabrina smiled in gratitude.

"Yes Suzanne, I believe I do know someone perfect for the job." She then nuzzled the human vet, appreciating the plan that Suzanne set in motion. "… Thank you."

"No problem," Suzanne said. She then waved her to the exit. "Come on, let's get to the waiting area too."

Both Human and _Smilodon_ walked off, without the use of the collar and leash, eager to see the future events unfold, hopefully for the better.


	8. Refugees of the Storm

_**A.N. Really not much to say here...but we do have a surprise in store for you in this chapter ;). We don't own any media used in this story. We only own the original characters. Enjoy!**_

 _ **Soundtrack: Soul Battles by Ryan Taubert/Fire by Paul Leonard-Morgan**_

Patchi stared out into the path before him; his thoughts moving passed the cluster of conifers around him.

Ever since they were forcefully thrown out of their valley by those tyrannosaurs a few days ago, Patchi had not spoken a word to anyone except for when he was giving out orders. With nowhere else to go and the cool air gradually coming in soon, the herd had no choice but to head south to their Feeding Grounds early.

The dead needles and forest debris crunched under their feet. The earth rumbled as the herd moved on. All was quiet; odd for a forest in the northernmost portion of North America. There were no small carnivores scurrying about, no birds, the bugs were quiet, and most of all, not a strong breeze went by. It was as if this place was dead.

Not that it mattered to the alpha _Pachyrhinosaurus_. His mind wandered over to that traumatic day when they had to flee their home valley. There was so much death and destruction for him to count. An army of carnivores came from who knows where for a giant feast. How could he not sense them coming? Had he known before then he would have warned everyone to get out of there. Now a large number of his herd was dead. He felt that it was his fault that he did not go and help those in need. But he could not; he had a family to protect and someone needed to lead the herd out…or what's left of them.

"Patchi?"

Broken out of his trance by the sweet sound of his mate's voice, the alpha looked over to the pale female that walked alongside him.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh. Um yeah, I'm fine," he shook the distracting thoughts from his mind. "Just…thinking about the trek is all," he lied.

"Okay…" Juniper reluctantly accepted the answer. "If there's something you want to talk about, you can always-"

"I said I'm fine!" the alpha forced in a shout.

The female alpha gawked; not once had he made an outburst to her before. Patchi was always respectful and polite towards her for as long as she's known him. Seeing him like this was…unlike him. And neither did they need to shift her gaze to the back to notice the rest of the herd giving them space. They knew better than to encroach on a herd leader when they were in a bad mood. It was as if the tension he was giving off was in the air.

Patchi sighed, sensing the mistake he had just created. Regret filled his every feature. "I'm sorry. I...don't want to talk about it."

"Patchi, listen," she tried to comfort him as best as she could, despite being separated by a few feet. "Forget about that place. That valley is now lost. We need to find a new place to live. I've heard of a valley as nice as our former one somewhere. My ancestors went to it before they went to the valley that we lived in. I know it's somewhere west of Ambush Alley, but other than that, I have no idea where it actually is."

The youngest son of the former leader shook his head violently. "No. We can't let this go easily. Those monsters took our home while we fled like cowards. We can't afford to go and search for a new home because doing so would jeopardize the lives of everyone in the herd. We can't afford to make risky decisions that would lead to our deaths."

"Then what do you suggest we do? Go back and reclaim that valley?"

He gave her a cold gaze. The tension became ever more apparent with his hardened breathing and rising anger. "When the cold season is over, we're going to go back and take back our home. Those monsters are going to pay for what they've done," he told her as he sped on ahead, wanting to get some space from everyone else.

Patchi found himself alone for half the day. From what he determined, his mate had decided to give him some space to himself. As much as he liked her company, the space was what he needed. Plus, she would try to bring up that topic again. To him, finding a new home was the coward's way out. That valley was their home. It belonged to their ancestors. It was their sanctuary.

Now it was gone. Taking the herd out to find a new home was just as bad as going on a blind pterosaur chase. It was like they were offering themselves up to be taken by death. No one knew where this valley was. They may die before they could find it; either from natural means or from dangerous carnivores. No, their best bet was to regroup. Get enough strength so they could fight back. They weren't prepared before. They fought a pack of _Gorgosaurus_ before. They were able to overcome them with sheer numbers. That time they were at an advantage.

This time, they were unprepared. They didn't know they were being stalked. Had they known, then things would have ended differently.

Patchi nearly stumbled on a small log. Gasping, he found his footing. When his eyes fell upon the obstacle in front of him, his jaw nearly dropped.

In front of him was a rising, inclined mud wall. Rocks, plants, and recluse were mixed into the grayish-brown earth. The musky scent of soil infuriated his nostrils. The height of the wall was tall, just barely reaching over his tallest frill horns.

The herd behind him stopped. Startled groans and apprehensive bellows filled the air. Agitation spread throughout each individual on the new wall before them.

Patchi looked to his left. This mud left behind a trail from the mountains several miles away. The slide had wiped away all rock and tree within its way. He then looked to his right. The destruction seemed to have spanned towards the cloudy horizon.

Going around it was not an option. It would take too long to try to find a way around the destruction. Their only option was to go through.

Taking a deep breath, Patchi made his first step into the mud incline. His feet slightly sank into the moist earth. He did not sink thankfully. One step at a time, he climbed the slope until he was at the top. The rest of the herd followed close by.

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Taru did his best not to look. The muddy landscape everywhere was upsetting to his young mind. He had already endured a massacre in his old home. He did not want to see any more destruction again.

But he had no choice this time. It was everywhere. His parents and uncle had already told him and his siblings that they were heading out to their Feeding Grounds early. He also heard from his mother that his father was planning on getting redemption against the monsters that drove them out. Were they really going to fight those predators? Not everyone was as strong as his uncle Scowler or his father. What about the younglings his age? What about the sick? They couldn't possibly fight back in the state they were in!

Taru would tell his dad going back to fight them was not a good idea. Those predators would easily overpower them due to their huge numbers. But from experience and his mom's advice, he knew not to do that. He would get in trouble. The last thing he wanted on this trip was his dad exploding at him for trying to voice out his opinion. Any other situation would have been fine. His father was not in the right mindset at the moment.

His home was witness to a massacre that had given him nightmares for days. Screaming innocents, bones breaking, blood spewing, and monsters with big jaws and sharp teeth plagued him in his sleep. But this mud field they were walking through? This was just as worse.

Dead bodies were strewn everywhere. Some of them were _Pachyrhinosaurus_ , just like him. He saw feathered creatures much like the ones he saw back in his valley; their jaws open, revealing their curved teeth while being covered in dirt. Trees, branches, and unnamed plants were sticking out of the ground, uprooted from where they originally were. Roots stuck up like menacing barbs. Broken bodies of other dinosaurs were scattered everywhere.

But if there was something that was common among the bodies, it would be their eyes; their white, cold, lifeless eyes.

Taru huddled close to the nearest individuals he could find; his sisters. Magnolia, Aster, Lilac, Ivy, Jasmine all grouped together, with the eldest at the front as their leader. Maggie was the smartest of the clutch, not to mention the biggest. She was the one that usually made the decisions in the group. Her headstrong attitude along with her mature thinking kept their clutch together. Right now, she was making sure that none of them faltered in this muddy wasteland. Taru was the only male in the clutch, but was the second eldest. It was nice to have his younger sisters see him as a sort of leader, but that meant having to listen to Maggie, who can be bossy. At least this time, she did not berate him for straying too far from the group.

Then, something caught his eye. A pair of three-digit hooves and a lifeless face brought him away from his family. Taru tentatively walked a few feet away to look upon a particular corpse that was half buried in the mud.

Now he may be young, but he could tell what this one is just by looking at it. _Edmontosaurus_ was what it was called. The unmistakable flat bill, the huge size, and the feet were what gave it away. They were abundant in this land. But he had never seen a dead one before. This one looked like it had lived for many years, before this mud took its life. The scratches all over its body were testament to many battles it had endured in its life.

He felt a soft nudge at his back. Looking over, he saw his mother gently push him onward with the knob of her snout.

"Keep walking Taru," she told him as she kept close to her child. "Don't pay any mind to that."

"Mom, what happened here?" he finally got the nerve to ask.

"Too much rain caused the mud in the mountains to fall," Juniper explained. "Anything that was caught up in this mud wall was swept away. At least, that's what I believe."

"Is…" he gazed back at the dead body that was fading behind him. "Everyone dead here?"

His mother said nothing as she looked upon him. Her protective, motherly instinct took over, not wanting to say any more. Taru said nothing more as she pushed him on. He immediately knew that she wanted him and everyone else to get away from this place. But he could not help but look at all the dead that littered the land like the recluse in the mud.

Moments later, he felt the familiar sensation of something with tiny sharp claws touch his back. They were not sharp nor were they painful. The pitter patter of the feet climbed up his back until they reached his nape. A little voice with a perky accent reached his ears.

"Keep walking _chico_. Listen to your mama," he said.

"Sorry, Uncle Alex," he replied to his adopted uncle, his father's best friend.

Neither of them said a word as they trudged through the remnants of the mudslide. Taru did his best to not look upon the dead that surrounded the herd. But in the back of his mind, it felt like their lifeless gazes were fixated on them like they were sentinels of the grave.

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An hour had passed on before the ground leveled down a bit. The mud was still moist so some of the herd members ended up getting a little stuck. Thankfully, there were those who were there to help them up. As soon as they bypassed the worst of the destruction, the mud became equal with the ground they tread on. It also seemed to have become more solid too. There was still destruction around, but the trees and the vegetation were more or less intact. They were, however, still buried beneath a few feet of mud.

It was anyone's guess on when this mudslide started. It could have been days or weeks before they came upon it. At least this disaster did not occur when they were crossing through this territory.

Patchi's snapped around when he heard a series of groans. The herd he had led was lagging behind. Their faces were unmistakably tired. Some of them looked like they were about to collapse at any minute. Their legs and parts of their bodies were covered with dirt and earthen debris, slowing them down like lead boots. Their gaits were slowed down immensely with the added weight.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his older brother Scowler catching up to him. His immediate stop had caused splashes of moist mud to fly around in globs. The footfalls he made created muffled squishing sounds. The burly green bull's pace slowed when he finally was at the same walking pace as him.

"Patchi, this place doesn't look good for the herd," the green-skinned ceratopsian informed. "There's a lot of death around here. No doubt predators will come to this place for a free buffet. We need to hurry on out."

"Did you see any predators around?" the alpha asked.

"So far, no."

Then, on his other side, Patchi found his mate meeting him. Her involvement into the report had immediately begun to turn into an argument.

"Scowler, haven't you been paying any attention?" she figuratively slapped him. "We've been walking for days. We haven't had time to rest. If we keep on going like this, then we may die from exhaustion."

Scowler made a guttural, irritated growl. "Oh would you rather rest here and wait for the carnivores to pop up? I mean, I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have pieces of me in their jaws!"

"We won't have any strength to fight them if we don't get a break!"

"Screw that! I'd rather die fighting!"

"This isn't about you!"

The alpha male roared angrily. The outburst made his lieutenant and his mate give him more space. Their faces were filled with surprise and intimidation, though Scowler looked to be more offended by it.

Patchi sighed, calming down from his momentary rage. "Both of you bring up good points , but if there's a decision I'm going to agree with, it's Juniper's. We can't fight back if we don't have any strength. We'll rest here for the night, but we'll have some sentries stay on guard for any predators that come for us. It's going to get dark and there are predators that hunt at night. Now shut your traps and act like adults!"

Both the alpha female and the second in command bull became silent, unable to speak out against his order. Had they really been acting like hatchlings then? From this trouble that everyone was going through, they must have not been paying any attention to their decision making that they made themselves look like fools. How immature and stupid…

Patchi reared his head back and trumpeted in three honks. The tell-tale sign of a leader saying they will rest. The herd groaned in relief and separated from their huddled formation. All of them parted off to find a comfortable place to rest among the hardened mud. The younglings in the herd bleated and scurried along as they went off to join their parents and friends for security. It was a temporary organized chaos.

The alpha looked to his brother, who had more or less recovered from the previous outburst he made. "Scowler, get some guys with you and do a quick scout around for danger."

Said brother begrudgingly accepted with a snort. Turning back, he hurried to the herd to find a few bulls that would join him in his excursion. As the lieutenant in the herd and practically the best warrior, it was his job to protect the herd from danger, whether it was making sure the route they were going was free of traps or driving off predators. And in an odd way, he was also one of Patchi's advisors. He had been the leader for a short time, but even he had some experience in it. They did have their differences in the past, but they had settled it through special circumstances.

Scowler was good to his brother and his sister in law. That was something the alpha happily accepted. Hopefully a night's rest will help them forget the troubles of today.

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Early evening…

A bit of a ways from the resting _Pachyrhinosaurus_ was a small biped scurrying through the forest remnants. The fallen trees and multitudes of rocks prevented him from looking directly at the herd, which rested nearly a mile away from where he was. Most at first glance would view him as a small carnivore. They would be wrong on that account.

Forrest was a _Parksosaurus_. About 8 feet long and covered from nose to tail in green and blue scales with raised bumps on his back, he was what would considered to be a hypsilophodont. His kind was equipped with moderately long necks and small heads complete with a sharp beak, short but strong forelimbs, and powerful legs. His long legs were well equipped for traversing the shores of rivers or moist terrain; so the mudslide aftermath proved to be no trouble for him. Leaves growing from the low-lying vegetation were his specialty, but considering the destruction from earlier, finding good buses to eat off from was proving to be a bit difficult as he had spent the last several hours scouring around for some good ones.

Forrest was on a mission. Finding food for himself was on his agenda, but there was another reason why he was out and about all alone. Each time he came across an overturned shrub, he would sniff it to make sure it was still good to eat. The mud soaking the leaves on the bushes made the taste unappealing to him. And if he found it distasteful, then the wards he was looking after would not find it good at all.

Leaves were hard to find, but he had been scavenging for rotting logs too. That was next on his list. If he could not find any good greens to bring back then the rotting wood would provide some sustenance. He learned from a longtime friend of his that old wood was a good survival food if greens were not abundant. Though he hoped it would not get to that. He HATED the taste of soft wood. It was too mushy and bland for his taste buds.

Something green and vibrant caught his yellow-orange large eye. His head snapped over, and a smile creased through his beak. A large bush that was half submerged in the mud. The leaves looked soft enough too; he had eaten from that kind of bush in the past.

Forrest sprinted over to it. Giving it a good sniff and inspection, he deemed it perfect to his taste. He snapped clumps into his mouth before gobbling them up by the clumps. It had been a while since he had a decent meal.

Several minutes passed and he felt his belly getting heavy. Having his fill, he started to strip apart the branches with his arms and beak. A pile was soon created from the branches he stripped off. The pile reached to about a third of his height. It would take him a while to get back to his friends, but at least they would eat well tonight.

Suddenly, a groan cut through the silence. The biped's attention was torn away from the savory bush. His eyes scanned the area. What was once illuminated by the setting sun was dimmed by clouds of fog. Here in Alaska, fog can come in unexpectedly, especially around night time during this time of year. He had good eyesight; his eyes were also best for nocturnal excursions. But his hearing was also efficient for sensing danger.

Forrest remained still and listened. Heavy stomps were coming. One…two…no it sounded like three individuals. He sniffed the air. Blood, decaying bodies, and muck registered in his brain. His sense of smell that would usually pick up signs of carnivores or food was being blocked by the dead around him. He could not tell whether the creatures coming towards him were friend or foe.

He did the one thing that he considered the wisest move. The _Parksosaurus_ sprinted towards a nearby wall of boulders and crouched down. His species were not fighters, as they relied on numbers and the defense of large herbivores for protection. Hiding was the best thing to do now. Perhaps if he kept himself out of sight, the unknown invaders would pass him by without much problem.

It did not take very long before the creatures were in the general area. The loud stomping they made in the mud stopped suddenly. Grunts, sniffs, and groans echoed from passed the rocks. Forrest was a coward; it was in his personality. If he saw danger, he would run from first sight. He did not bother peeking above the rocks to see what was there.

But doing so would make this situation worse.

"Hold up," a deep, intimidating sly voice of a male sounded.

"What's up, Scowler?" another male asked.

Scowler? What kind of a name was that? What an odd choice to give to somebody.

"Something's here," the thing sniffed. "Something fresh."

Forrest froze. His muscles tensed up. Was that him they smelled?

"You sure it's not the stench of death in the air that's messing with you?" asked another male, who sounded younger than the first.

"You callin' me crazy?" Scowler intimidated the other.

"Uh…" Forrest heard that one stammer a bit.

"Go ahead," he threatened. "Say it again. I dare you."

"Um…never mind."

Scowler huffed before sniffing again. A confirmatory snort escaped his nostrils. "Something's here alright. Smells like sun and tangy leaves."

Forrest stifled a gasp. His body shook with fear. He was always told he smelled a bit spicy! That was because he always favored the leaves that had a "spicy" taste to them. In fact, he always rubbed his body against those branches so that he could get some bugs off of him sometimes. Stupidly enough, that was what made him attract small predators and other unwanted attention sometimes. He tried stopping that habit of rubbing his body against those branches, but there were times when he could not help it just to get the bigger leaves within the bushes. The _Parksosaurus_ was being stupid today though; his friend Ilana warned him of doing that this time. He thought doing that dumb habit now would not hurt since they were alone. The barren landscape may be barren now, but that did not mean that there were other carnivores wandering about. All these corpses would attract flesh eaters from miles around.

He stayed completely still. The footsteps approached the rocks he hid behind. His heart had reached his throat; he could have sworn it was going to explode out of his maw. Forrest did his best to keep his breathing quiet.

The thing sniffed the air. He was so close! Just a peek around one of the rocks and he would be there!

Forrest closed his eyes, desperately wishing the "thing" would go away.

"Well what do we have here?"

Forrest screamed as something heavy squished the tip of his tail. The _Parkosaurus_ jumped above the rocks, his screaming breaking the eerie silence of the foggy domain.

"Looks like we got ourselves a little stalker," he chuckled in an almost sadistic manner.

"Please don't eat me!" was the one thing he squeaked out.

"Eat you? You think eating flesh would satisfy this guy? You better take a good look because either your brain's gone and left you or you're not seeing things right."

The biped shakily curved around. His tail being trapped under the thing's foot prevented him from moving properly. He got a good look at his oppressor. It wasn't a tyrannosaur. It was not one of those fast-eaters that would always surround him unexpectedly. In fact, this guy had no sharp teeth or claws at all.

The thing was a darker shade of green than his. He was a quadruped, thank goodness. The clear indication of a frill and horns adorning his head gave away a ceratopsian. The knobby nose, the horns above it, and the frill decoration revealed a _Pachyrhinosaurus_.

And it was not very long before two more of them joined in on the finding.

"Oh! Phew…just a bunch of _Pachyrhinosaurus_ ," Forrest sighed in relief. He had some run-ins with their kind before. They did not really care too much of his or his kind's presence. All they focused on was their own business or just eating. In the past, his previous troupe would stick around any ceratopsian during their annual migrations. They would always provide some sort of protection in exchange for them using their senses to spot danger. It was a neat trade-off, so naturally he viewed them as good signs. "And here I thought you guys were some carnivores coming to eat us!"

The green horned one released his grip on his tail. The _Parksosaurus_ had a moment of relief when the pain gradually alleviated. That did not last long as said ceratopsian leaned in closer to scrutinize him.

"Excuse me?" he said, making him feel a bit uncomfortable. "Do we look like carnos to you?"

Forrest shook his head quickly. "N-no! You don't! I just thought you were!" he squeaked quickly in his usual jittery tone. "Listen, two of my friends are resting not far from here and one of them isn't doing so well. I've been trying to scrounge up some food for him but he's not eating a lot. Now food will help anybody, but I think what he, and by extension me and my other friend, need right now is a herd. Do you mind if we tag along with you?"

"What the!?" Scowler blurted, making the biped back up nervously. "What are we? Good Samaritans? We don't just pick up random strangers along the way!"

"What's going on here?"

The intimidating bull tanks peered over the rocks at the sound of the evident feminine voice. Forrest looked over as well. His eyes were met by another _Pachyrhinosaurus_. The one looked different though. In contrast to the green one and the others around him that had brick brown skin, this one was beige, probably a pale tan or something like that. The horns were shorter and not curved. The muscle around this one seemed pretty slim too compared to the others. It was definitely a female.

"Juniper, what are you doing here?" Scowler asked the female that was now with them. Her hardened gaze scanned them unapprovingly. "You know it's not safe!"

"Relax. I told Patchi I wanted to go and find some food for the kids. He said I can do that so long as I go with you. It wasn't difficult to convince him. Anyway, what is going on? I was off about to pick off the branches of a nearby bush when I found you three taunting something here."

"Uh, we found this guy skulking nearby," his head gestured over to the _Parksosaurus_ that slowly creeped around the rocks to meet the female. "I thought he was a _Hesperonychus_ or a _Troodon_ so we came over to investigate."

Forrest, clearly angered, whipped around with his tail swishing madly. "Do I look like one of those delinquent carnos to you!?" he pointed a claw at himself. "I was just asking for some help!"

Scowler was about to retort when Juniper eased the argument before it would escalate.

"Okay okay, that's enough!" her disappointment in her in-law's actions made him back off. Her features eased up when she focused on the small biped. "Sorry about that. He can be a really hard case sometimes. What's your name?"

"Forrest," he gulped, recovering from that last confrontation.

"Huh, that's a nice name," she commented. He resisted the urge to blush. "I'm Juniper. The hard head over there is Scowler and a couple of his scouts from our herd. They were out scouting for danger when they found you."

"Okay...well I'm no danger to any of you guys," he made a light chuckle to try to push the harrowing event aside. "My bite isn't that great."

Juniper laughed as well. "What are you doing here in a place like this?"

"I live here," he did a quick look around and corrected himself. "Or, at least, I did. This forest was pretty homey two days ago. It rained a lot and I guess the mountain nearby decided to lose some weight. My friends and I survived because we were just heading back here from an outing to get some sweet leaves into our stomachs. Well, technically, one of them I just met but he's pretty much my friend. We heard there was some growing about a day away so we decided to go and get some. When we came back...well, we found this."

The pale female inquisitively eyed him at one of the details. "Your friends? You mean there are more of you?"

"Well not exactly like me, but yeah. Two more. One of them isn't doing so hot. His herd was caught in this wave. None of them survived. I went out to get some food for him, but then ran into you guys."

She went into deep thought. Forrest did nothing as she quietly considered his explanation. He hoped she would help in any way. His friends needed help, and one of them was not doing well. Thankfully, her answer brightened his spirits a bit.

"Can you take us to them?"

Forrest quickly ran off, guiding the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ behind him. He thanked the being above that they were finally going to get some help.

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After doing a quick check for any issues around the herd, Patchi moved on to his immediate family. His children seemed to be doing fine. Traversing through the mud was a bit difficult on them as the added dirt weight slowed them a bit; something they would get over once they're older. It did not take them very long to get comfortable for the night. Juniper opted to go out and get some food for them, something that some of the other herd members would be doing later once Scowler deemed the area safe. Patchi was a bit hesitant to let his mate go out alone, so he asked his mate to go with his brother and his scouting troupe, for added protection.

If there was something was apparent on all of them besides exhaustion, it was the trauma. Children quietly cried next to their parents on the horror they faced in their home. Some were having a hard time sleeping. Others were too afraid to go walking around alone in fear of incoming predators. They had just experienced getting kicked out of their own home and witnessed their friends and families get slaughtered by a ton of carnivores. It was a miracle none of them completely broke down right now.

Patchi was at a loss. How could he help them? He was the one suffering the most; he did lose a large amount of his herd and he didn't do anything about it. Guilt filled his mind like wildfire. The pain in his heart panged like a nail being driven through. What kind of a leader was he if he couldn't protect anyone in the herd properly? All he did was lead the survivors out at the cost of the victims' lives!

He had not been a leader for long. How would Scowler deal with something like this? Probably do the same thing and not even consider the livelihoods of everyone else despite the horror they went through. He'd probably not even care, but that was before he turned a new leaf. What about his father? Did he do the same thing in the past? Patchi had no idea; he only knew his dad for a few months before he lost his life to a _Gorgosaurus_.

His best friend, Alex, had done his best to lift his spirits by having some small talk about good memories, but that only served to make things worse. Just bringing up the days when he and his family would roll around in the mud, do practice sparring with his son Taru, having moonlight walks in the valley, and even swimming in the river they had would bring out heartbreak for the alpha. He told Alex not to speak more of their home, something that the ancient bird quickly went along with. The _Alexornis_ was now perched on a nearby rock, preening his red and black feathers.

"Patchi!"

His attention was brought to Juniper, who was approaching him in a rushed gait. She skidded on the mud, breathing heavily before him.

"What's wrong, Juniper?" he checked her for any sign of injury. He was glad he found none. "Predators?"

She shook her frilled head. "No. Scowler and his group found a couple of survivors of the mudslide. They need help."

Patchi followed his mate away from the herd. His immediate thought was a stranded group of _Pachyrhinosaurus_. Perhaps they needed a herd to join. Not that he was being picky on species, but if they could increase their herd numbers, then they may stand a chance of survival against another attack. Even better, they may know where another lush valley would be when they decide to migrate after the cold days.

His herd was already about to rest so he had done his job for the day. Not to mention that they would not miss him for a little while. As long as he got back to them in a short time then they would be fine.

The duo weaved around fallen trees, passed scattered boulders, and lifeless bodies. The fog that had rolled in dulled their sight a little, but at least Juniper knew the way. She sniffed the air and followed the ground for the tracks she had made before.

It was not long before they arrived at what was left of a forest edge. The reason why it was that was due to the lack of fallen trees and the sparse vegetation. There were, however, more rocks than before. Perhaps this was one of the rough parts of mudslide.

Then, there were more corpses. To be more precise, there were dead _Edmontosaurus_ everywhere. Giants that were taller than them by several feet lay decaying in the moist earth. Their white eyes stared up at nothing. Their mouths opened to reveal tongues that lolled out. Hadrosaurs, both young and old, were everywhere. There were at least thirty or so in this place. Patchi had no time to count though.

Finally, Juniper came to a stop. Patchi found himself looking at his brother and two males he picked from the herd. The siblings shared a quick nod before his attention was turned to the reason he was brought there.

The group that was presented before him was an odd group indeed. He was disappointed that they were not _Pachyrhinosaurus_. At the same time, he was not too bugged about it. Interspecies friendships were nothing new to him. He was friends with Alex after all.

The first individual was a small, green biped. A _Parksosaurus_ , from what he recalled. The tiny herbivore jumped up and started to cock its head inquisitively, its tail swishing in excitement.

The next one was a brownish-gray creature armed with flattened plates, grooves, and spikes all over the body. Those spikes aligned the sides, like prehistoric spears on a boat. There was no bony club at the tail, so it wasn't an Ankylosaur. Patchi deduced this one to be an _Edmontonia_ , a creature that was a meter below his actual height. It was a logical guess, considering the appearance. This one seemed old too. The eyes were a dull gray, most likely because this one had bad eyesight. The armored creature heaved itself up and took several sniffs at him.

Patchi felt awkward about being scrutinized. Before he could talk about the situation, his eyes fell on the last individual. Rather than being excited or curious about his presence, this one was paying no mind to him. Tired and teary eyes focused on the corpse that lay next to the young one.

It was a young _Edmontosaurus_. It looked like it was a couple years old; the height nearly half of the alpha's. It had a slate grey skin, like the others. The hooves in the front were in three digits. And the mouth was shaped like a bill. One inference led Patchi to believe that this one was mourning the loss of this herd. Maybe the _Edmontosaurus_ corpse that lay nearby was a parent? A long-time friend? He did not know.

"Is this them?" he asked his mate.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "The _Parksosaurus_ there is Forrest. He's the one that led us to them. The other two are...um..."

The _Edmontonia_ chuckled. Judging by the tone in the light laugh, this was a female. Her voice sounded frail, but wise. Not to mention she had a particular unique accent to her; it was clipped and she trilled on some parts. Humans of the 21st century would deduce this as a Scottish accent.

"My name is Ilana," she introduced before gesturing to her other associates with nods of her armored head. "Forrest and I are from here, but as you can see, our home turned into this deathtrap. The young one there is a survivor of the herd. You'll have to forgive me, but I do not know his name."

Scowler took a step forward, suspicion rising in his features. "How could you not know the name of this kid if he tagged along with you?"

"He never told us," Forrest said. "Actually, he didn't talk to us the whole time we knew him. Sorry, but we don't know his name."

The green ceratopsian lieutenant peered at the youngling. The _Edmontosaurus_ hugged the ground, making himself as small as possible. "Huh…interesting," he said.

Patchi peered over and saw what his brother was looking at; a tiny, yet distinguishable slash mark that went down his cheek. How on earth did he get that? It was probably from an attack of some sort. Probably a little carnivore from the looks of it.

"Heh, well if he won't tell us his name," Scowler chuckled. "Then let's give him one. 'Scar' seems like a good fit."

Oh boy…his brother may be strong, but he was also an idiot at times. This included him not considering anybody's feelings or having common sense about emotions. Sure, he was good at knowing what he thought was best for everyone, but he was a total failure when it came to empathy. His insensitive comment had caused the poor youngling to break down crying.

Juniper and Ilana, having the maternal sense erupt in their minds, got close to the hadrosaur. Patchi's mate took her place as close to him as she could; the best she could do was nearly parallel to the deceased adult and stroke his cheek with her snout. Ilana did the same on the other side as she used her muzzle to wipe the tears that fell from his eyes. The sniffles were loud and were then coupled by a cough here and there.

"Scowler!" Juniper glared at the green warrior. The male shuddered at the surprising anger she gave off. "You thick-headed numbskull! Look what you did!"

"How rude of you!" Ilana equally pointed out with disappointment. "Have you no shame?"

"What?" said Scowler, confused as to why they were mad at him. "I thought it was a good name for him. The mark on his cheek says it all."

The women, and even the other males around him, glared at the puzzled bull before focusing their attention on the young one. Patchi made a mental note to give him a serious talk about his empathy skills after this.

"How did you three survive? When did this happen?" Patchi quickly changed the topic.

Forrest calmed down and explained the whole situation. "We were out getting some food about a day's travel from here. When we got back, we found our home like this. The kid's herd was swept up in it; hurt him pretty bad too considering they were his only family. Ilana and I have been trying to help him out ever since. I think it's been about two days since we came back here."

The _Edmontonia_ spoke up next. "We have been trying to get him to travel with us so we could find a new home, but have not been able to get him to move. The poor dear is suffering so much. He needs some time to recover before we can leave."

"Yeah I was out trying to get some food for him when I met those guys," the hypsilophodont rolled his eyes at Scowler and his troupe, making them feel ashamed of themselves.

"Do you guys know of any lush places around here?" the alpha continued to them. They mentioned being in a place that was just as lush as this forest. Perhaps they knew of other places where they could live. "We lost our home too not too long ago."

Ilana rumbled inquisitively. Her smooth, armored skull pointed up to the sky, pondering on that very question. "Well, I may know a few. But I'm not sure if they're still there. I'm not sure if my memory will help or anything. I haven't been there in years either."

Patchi sighed. Again, he was met with a dead end. He had hoped the elder would know of a place the herd could go to. His hope slipped away as soon as she mentioned her slight amnesia.

Juniper looked over to her mate with much resolve. "Patchi, these guys lost their home. They have nowhere to go."

"Yeah neither do we for much longer," he replied in a blunt manner.

The pale female ignored his jab despite how rude he was. "Let's let them come with us. The least we can do is help them a bit. Who knows, they may be able to help us and we may be able to help them."

Patchi eyed them for a moment. She was right. Their home was destroyed and they had little knowledge in other living spaces. Staying here for much longer would only promote starvation, dehydration, or even serve themselves up as dinner for predators. Maybe if he allowed them to come along, Ilana's memories could be jogged.

It was worth a shot. He nodded and sighed almost reluctantly. "Alright. They can come. We're heading to our feeding grounds, so you're welcome to join us."

Ilana smiled sweetly at the young alpha. Forrest pulled his arm back as if he had a weight he was pulling. The youngling, or "Scar" as Scowler rudely called him, perked his head up in shock. The two friends went over to him and nudged him with support. They got him to get up, with a bit of help from Juniper. They did their best to make sure his attention was pulled away from the deceased that surrounded them. The ceratopsian escorts guided them back to the herd in silence.

Their herd was three members stronger.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eight days later…

The herd slowly rumbled through the forest. Their footsteps disturbed the floor as they moved on. The rain fell from above in heavy globs. It had been like this ever since they left the mudslide aftermath behind. It was as if the skies were crying from the tragedy of the lost souls in that part of the land. The falling water was cold too due to the region they were in. Everyone shivered as the Alaskan rain fell, making the hides on the dinosaurs twitch uncontrollably.

With the recent addition of Forrest, Ilana, and "Scar", finding a new home seemed to be a top priority. One male _Pachyrhinosaurus_ named Brisken was assigned by the leader to keep an eye on them. He would occasionally ask the _Parksosaurus_ and the _Edmontonia_ if they recognized the areas they were in. Sadly, they were not able to discern any familiar landmark to other valleys in their minds. Ilana would mention that she would not recall any memory on the landscape due to how much it has changed; either it was because the trees grew taller and covered paths, fallen logs changed the passages, or rocks had been moved around.

Even the young _Edmonstosaurus_ was not able to give any answer to contribute. Him not being able to speak did not help. His unresponsiveness coupled with unrecognizable landmarks did not help him at all.

The one positive thing about this forest of conifers was that it was familiar to the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ herd. They had passed by here so many times in the past. The younglings that never went through it would learn about it from the adults. The veteran travelers knew this forest well, and they knew that up ahead was a river that served as a border between the forest and the plains beyond. When they crossed that river, they would soon reach the mountains that would lead them down to the treacherous Ambush Alley, where predators always dogged them in every migration. Beyond that…was their destination. The Feeding Grounds.

The climate of the northern region did little to make the herd uncomfortable. They were used to the temperatures. Their thick hides would block out the brisk Alaska air well. The only one who was slightly irritated by it was Alex. He may have his plumage, but getting wet would drag his body down, making his flying cumbersome. The whole time since they put the mud scape behind him, he had stayed under Patchi's frill in a desperate attempt to escape the rain.

"Ay, how much longer till we get there? I'm getting tired of all this rain!" he complained.

Juniper sighed from him saying that for the 5th time that day. "We'll get there when we get there. Just be patient."

"Ugh...I'm so bored! And hungry! This rain isn't very good for my food. Most of them prefer to buzz around. Rain and bugs do not go together!"

"Can't you just go and get some food?" she said while catching up to be behind her mate.

"In this rain? I don't think so mama-sita! I just preened!"

The alpha he was on grunted warningly. His frilled head turned back a little towards the bird perched on his neck. "Alex, can you keep it down? I'm trying to concentrate."

The ancient bird huffed. He spread apart his wings and flew off, clearly sensing the message his friend was giving off. Being the leader, he needed to concentrate on where to go next and keep an eye on their surroundings for anything suspicious.

Alex would prefer to stay out of the rain. But this time, his stomach spoke louder.

"Fine. Might as well get some food before we leave this place."

The bugs would not be flying around in the rain. That was a given. Any bug that did would just be dragged down onto the ground, making themselves vulnerable to attack. Alex knew that. But there were bugs that would take shelter in the trees. Some would dig into the bark to eat the wood or to escape the moisture. Others would stay motionless in the leaves for shelter and camouflage.

Alex panted as he flew over the herd. His wings quickly became heavy from the amount of water they accumulated. Each flap only sent tiny droplets flying on all sides like an unnatural spray. His wings got heavier in the passing minutes.

It was not long before he was passing over the back of the herd. Looking down, he saw the three refugees from earlier. The green biped was ahead of them by several feet. The armored one was walking alongside the youngster a bit of a ways behind.

He hadn't properly introduced himself to them. Seen them, yes. But not really got to know them. Swooping down, his mind was made up in getting to know them better.

Then, something moved up ahead. A shadow shifted through the woods. He hovered over the herd, his eyes darting from left to right. He could have sworn he saw a flash of brown pass by.

"¿ _Qué_? Am I seeing things?" he said.

Something moved to his right. A large creature with brown feathers passed by in the woods. Alex flew over there, being sure not to stray too far from the herd. Another flash of brown came from his left. He looked over, only to see nothing again.

"¿ _Hola_? Anybody there?" he called.

No answer came from within the woods. The only sounds he could hear was the receding march of the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ herd.

"Huh, I guess I really was seeing things."

He gasped when he noticed something large step out of the shadows from his left. The yellow eyes, the Sharp teeth that protruded from the lips, the tiny two-fingered arms on its chest, the sharp claws on its feet were all signs of danger. His brain immediately drifted to predator. The creature had Brown feathers all over its body. In fact, it looked similar to the things that attacked their home.

No, this was the same thing that attacked them! It was not along either. More of its kind was stalking through the darkness of the forest. None of them paid any mind to the hovering bird above their heads. All they cared about was the plump meat that paid no mind to their presence.

"Ay yi yi! Everyone! _Vamanos_! Danger! Danger!" Alex veered his wings back. He cawed his warning to the herbivores that marched ahead.

Those that did hear him stopped and turned. The curiosity that went through their brains was replaced by terror when they saw the monsters that came towards them. Gasps and screams followed soon after.

"Carnivore!" One female screamed as she broke into a sprint.

"Run! Let's get out of here!" said a male, who followed her.

And it was not long before the whole herd fled into a frenzy of fright.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Taru was scared. That much he was sure of. One minute, he was off heading to the back of the herd just so he could acquaint himself with the newcomers. Besides his mother and a couple of his sisters, Taru was the only other individual who was interested in befriending the trio. In fact, during the whole trip, he would lag to the back of the herd just so he could get to know them. They appreciated his company, and he got to make some new companions. Then, today he messed up. He was pretty much at the back when his Uncle Alex gave the warning sign of incoming predators.

Now he was doing his best to keep up with the rest of the frightened herd.

"Hurry little one!" he heard the voice of an old woman.

A nudge pushed him along. Looking back quickly, he saw Ilana looming beside him. Despite her heavy armor, she was able to somewhat keep up enough to stay at the back of the herd. Running alongside her was the frightened _Edmontosaurus_ , who was doing his best to not look back. The only one who was running ahead of them was Forrest. Rather than run at his full speed and stay with the herd, he was lagging behind to stay with his companions.

While Ilana had been nudging Taru to run faster, his body would not let him do so. The endless walking for days had tired him out. "I'm trying! But I'm…too…tired!"

"Keep running kid!" Forrest squawked ahead. "Don't look back!"

"These...these were the same things that drove us out of our valley!" said Taru after taking a quick glance at their pursuers. "Do you know what they are?"

"I've seen many things in my life," Ilana panted. "These I've seen quite a lot. They're called _Albertosaurus_ , at least that's what I heard. They're like Gorgos and a lot meaner!"

"Yeah I think we got that!" the ceratopsian child shrieked when he saw one run through the wood on his right.

"Your father said there was a river close by, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"These fellows aren't strong swimmers!" the elder remarked with a sly smile. "If we can get across that river, then we may still have a chance!"

"Then what the hey are we doing just talking about it?" Forrest hollered in a most rhetorical manner. "RUN!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In Alaska, the climate is variable depending on the time of year and where you are. In Valdez, the annual precipitation is about 40 gallons/ft2, rain and snow included. The wettest time of the year was in September, when the rainfall is at around 5 gallons. The northern regions would have the most precipitation.

This was not the 21st century. This was the Late Cretaceous, 70 million years ago. The climate was more or less similar, but with the changes happening on the planet over the millions of years, extremes were bound to happen at times. Heavy rainy days were one of those extremes.

With such heavy rainfall that occurred for days, the rivers and lakes in this region rose by several feet. The rushing water of the river before the herd was usually calm whenever they came to it. Now, it was a rushing torrent filled with debris the waters collected upstream. Fallen logs and other recluse rushed on the surface. The downpour created millions of ripples on the surface that mixed with the rapids. The torrent was a dangerous hazard; anyone caught in it would be swept away if they were not good at swimming, if they were not hit by the debris first. Drowning was a high possibility.

This herd had two choices. Either they do not cross and try to find a way around the river, which there would not be as the river spanned for miles; they would get slaughtered by the _Albertosaurus_ chasing them before they can escape. Or they could cross the river where their chance of survival was slim.

Patchi looked from left to right. Going around it was out of the question. It would take them forever to find a safer passage through the torrent. The white foams from the crashing rapids only highlighted the endless strength of the once tranquil body of water.

 _ ***ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR***_

The alpha looked back. The army of _Albertosaurus_ was coming. His herd tentatively looked at the water surface and at the pursuers behind them. Cries and screams filled the air, creating a symphony of fear. They were not far away. If they stayed, they would die. If they crossed the river, they would still die, but have a small chance of escape.

His mind was already made up.

"Everyone! Swim for the other side! We can lose them there!"

The ceratopsian leader skid down the muddy five-foot incline. Once he reached the shore, he leaped forward and landed in the water with a crash. The splash from his wake scattered everywhere. His skin was met with a biting cold.

Patchi felt his body swerve to the right. He powered his legs forward in a mad dog paddle. The current was stronger than he had expected. The alpha fought to keep his head above the water; one moment of rest and he could be dragged under. Already his neck muscles began to hurt as he paddled along. His legs ached too as he was pushing them more than he usually did.

Push, push, push onward! That was his mantra. His back legs started to numb. He gasped when he found himself go under the surface. The murk enveloped him. The sky above became cloudy. His lungs filled with the rushing cold water.

Patchi gagged. More water flooded his lungs. He pushed himself up, finally breathing in fresh air. He coughed out the water in nauseating clumps. His nose stung like crazy.

The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ glanced over. The rest of the herd was following him, with his mate and older brother at the front. They too were doing their best to keep their heads out of the water. The ones on the bank were impatiently waiting to jump into the rushing river.

He was halfway there. He cursed himself of the ill situation they were in. He'd rather run than swim. He was not a strong swimmer at all. Wading was fine. Dunking your face into water to wake yourself up or to play was acceptable. But swimming? He was not a big fan of. He could not feel the bottom of the river due to how much it had risen, which gave him a sense of foreboding as he could drift away should he make one misstep.

Patchi heard a crash, which was followed by a scream. It only lasted a moment, but it was bloodcurdling. He dared not to look back. What happened? Did the predators follow them?

Another crash was followed by a scream. What was happening behind him? He couldn't take it anymore. He had to know what was going on.

With one final push, he propelled his legs forward. The feel of soft earth met his hooves. Patchi had made it to shore.

The orange-colored alpha took note of the next obstacle in front of him. A muddy bank with a steep incline much like the one he left before. It was about eight feet up, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. He put his front legs on the soft grassy patch and hauled himself up. His back legs slightly dug into the mud and slid a little, but that did nothing to stop him.

Patchi heaved a sigh. He finally made it.

He focused his attention back to his herd. Juniper did the same as she hauled herself up the incline. She took her place next to him and the shared an embrace.

Soon the other _Pachyrhinosaurus_ followed. The younglings had some trouble getting up the bank, however they were assisted by the adults with nudges from their bony snouts. One by one, younglings and adults alike clambered up the bank. Patchi directed them all over to a few feet away where they could gather their bearings. Those that already made it gasped in place or embraced their friends and family. Safety was finally theirs. Families that braved the ordeal over the dark days huddled together in teary relief. Younglings snuggled up to their parents over the fear of never seeing them again.

Patchi gasped. What of his family? His mate made it. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw his brother pass him by to check up on everyone else. But what about his own children? Where were they? Were they still on the other side? Are they hurt? Did they drown?

He frantically searched the incoming Pachyrhinosaurus for any sign of pale or orange skinned children. All he saw were muddy and exhausted ceratopsians coming up the slope of all ages. But he saw no sign of any of his children.

"Mom! Dad!"

His ears perked at the sound. He got to the edge and sighed. Waiting at the edge of the slope for their turn to go up were his kids; all of which were shivering and whimpering.

"Maggie! Aster! Jasmine! Ivy! Lilac!" Juniper ran up to him before jumping down onto the muddy bank. The whole earth slid and rumbled from her wake. The girls huddled up to their mother for comfort. Their small size and huddling under her looked like a bird would to a nest of eggs. "I'm so glad you're safe," she nuzzled them with her snout.

Patchi's eyes narrowed. One, two, three, four, five…that was all he saw. He had five daughters total. Wait, then that would mean-

"Where's Taru!?" he shouted his son's name.

He looked over and found a horrible sight. A line of at least fifty _Pachyrhinosaurus_ had their backs to the river. They were shaking their heads at a few of the vicious carnivores, who were snapping their massive jaws in a bluffing manner. The rest of the herd were still making their way across the river, but it was then that he saw that crossing the river was no better than staying on that part of the shore with those monsters. He saw a couple of lifeless bodies floating on the surface, just helplessly being carried down the tempestuous current. Those that did survive did their best to dodge the logs that came at them either by diving down or by veering around them.

Patchi soon realized that the screams and the crashing he heard earlier when he was swimming to the other side had come from the logs that crashed into his herd, knocking them out and causing them to drown.

The alpha jumped into the river and desperately swam to the other side. His family called out to him to come back to them. He lost one part of his herd, he did not want to lose any more, especially when one of them was his only son.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Taru desperately looked around, fearfully unsure on how to escape. Everything had happened so fast around him. First he was running as fast as he could, nearly as fast as Forrest. Then he found that he did not want to leave that _Edmontosaurus_ nor that old _Edmontonia_ behind. He barely knew them but he felt that they could be good friends in the future. The herd had run ahead of them and his legs were too tired from their migration trek. Then, next thing he knew, he and his future friends were surrounded by at least ten or so of those _Albertosaurus_.

Those yellow menacing eyes. The dampened feather down on their bodies was soaked under all the rain. The teeth dripped with pillars of saliva. Their gargantuan size compared to his dog-sized stature.

Taru huddled close to Ilana. She swished her tail around while angling her body to the side; her huge body horns pointed at the enemies. As she circled around she made sure to keep an eye on the other predators around her in case they decided to pull a fast one. The nodosaur bellowed low and crouched a little, ready to shove her body to them in defense.

Forrest and the hadrosaur orphan grouped next to Taru and under Ilana. The young _Pachyrhinosaurus_ quickly followed them. They stayed beneath her heavy girth for protection. The rain above ceased to bother them with the pounding water but the mud beneath them made them sink a little deeper. They also made sure to stay clear of Ilana's legs, not wanting to get squashed. Whenever she moved, they moved along with her.

"You three dears stay under me!" she defended in a gravelly voice. "I'll protect you."

Ilana swished her tail again. "Come on you brutes! I'll give you such a wallop!"

Then, before she could make another threat, a group of _Pachyrhinosaurus_ came charging from ahead. The large ceratopsians rammed their bony snouts and horns into the tyrannosaurs' chests and legs. The huge predators stumbled over or were pushed back.

The group looked on dumbfounded. Rather than fleeing across the river, these herd members were fighting for them. One of the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ that was pushing a ravenous Albertosaurus that kept biting at his neck managed to turn and yell at them.

"You lot get out of here!" he hollered.

Taru squirmed out from under Ilana. His face was coated in astonishment and plain confusion. A quick thought and he instantly recognized him as Brisken, one of his uncle's scouts. "Brisken! You saved us!"

"That I did! Er, sorry, we did. You guys get across the river. We'll hold them off!"

The child of the alpha gawked. He shook his head, not wanting to believe what was going on. "No! Come with us!"

"This is no time for arguing Taru! Get the others and go! Tell your dad not to worry about us!"

Taru shook his head. He did not know Brisken well, but the fact that these ceratopsians were risking their lives just for them was enough to put him to tears. They already lost so many. And now they were giving their lives just to give them a fighting chance.

"No! We can't leave you behind! You'll die!"

"Kid, this is what we trained for," he turned slightly, wincing under the biting pain of the teeth in his skin. The carnivore growled as the blood reached his taste buds. "Our lives are already forfeit. The least we can do is to give the others a chance to live. Besides, if any of us are going to die, then let's bring our enemies down with us."

Taru had no idea how to respond. They were giving up their lives just for them. Why? They were not as important. To him, they were just complete strangers. Sure, he knew him a little but not to a personal level. Yet he wants them all to live. Everyone that was fighting here were giving up their lives as if they accepted their deaths. To his young mind, it was too much.

"Go kid! We'll hold them off for as long as we can!" he grunted from the stinging bite on his neck. Brisken shoved at the tyrannosaur, sending him stumbling backwards in a shrieking fit.

"Let's go young one!" Ilana hollered.

He looked back and saw that the elder nodosaur and her compatriots were already making their way towards the river. The shore looked a little empty with just a few _Pachyrhinosaurus_ waiting to jump in to swim across.

Taru shut his eyes, resisting the urge to look at the fight around him. The screams of the herd members falling under the carnivores' onslaught filled his ears. The sound of bones crunching and the smell of blood perforated in the grove of death.

He ran towards the river as fast as he could, all the while not looking back as he left them all to sacrifice themselves.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Patchi pushed himself through the current. Mucky water fell down his throat each time he fell under the surface for a moment. His legs ached once more; at this rate, if he kept going, he may just freeze up with cramps and fall under.

The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ alpha kept his eye on the near barren shore. The rest of the herd was going the other way to where the others were. The sounds of a battle resounded nearby; roars, growls, breaking bones, and shrieks echoed unceremoniously. Fear in his gut skyrocketed; his son could be there. If he was there where the carnivores were…

No! No he won't let that happen! He failed once. He won't fail again!

Then, as if luck fell on him, four shapes came up to the shore. His eyes fell upon an _Edmontonia_ , a young _Edmontosaurus_ , a _Parksosaurus_ , and a little _Pachyrhinosaurus_ who looked a little like him. Patchi sighed. His son was alive.

"Dad!" Taru clambered down the muddy bank into the water.

"Hold on, son!" Patchi yelled as he swam faster. "I'm coming!"

The current quickly pulled Taru down, but his father had arrived in time. Using his bulk on the mud, he used his own body as a weight to prevent him from being dragged away by the water. Closely following behind him were the three refugees.

Ilana had a bit of a hard time going down the mud as she slid down. Her weight had worked against her in this point. She soon regained her footing when she reached the bottom. Forrest and the young hadrosaur quickly followed, staying near Patchi's side. If any of them were to stay next to Ilana on her left, the fast current would just push them straight into her spines, leading to an unpleasant and bloody death.

The four of them swam across the river. Ilana had a hard time as her weight was working against her. However, she was greatly underestimated as she was doing her best with keeping her head above the water. In her old age, she had been through much. Swimming was not her forte, but she had experience enough.

Forrest and his younger compatriot stayed close to Taru and his father. The sounds of the battle echoed from behind. Neither of them dared to look back in fear of seeing something horrifying.

The debris in the river still raged on. There were times when they had to duck under the surface to dodge an incoming log. Other times they would just veer off to the side. Patchi could have sworn that his heart was now pounding in his throat.

The screams from behind stabbed his ears like incessant bee stings. Patchi kept looking back. The battle seemed to be getting worse. The tyrannosaurs sounded more vicious than before. The roars they made surely sounded intimidating, but there was something off about them. They had a certain tone to it. He could not explain it. His kind had certain vocalizations to alert others of situations; danger, food, a place to rest, the time to move, etc. But this…the roars almost sounded like they were…victorious.

Patchi's stomach fell. The rest of his herd that were in the back didn't get in the river. Could they be…?

He quickly escorted his son and the refugees onto the shore. They followed close behind the last ones of the fleeing members of the herd. Patchi looked back. He expected to hear the cries of fear and anguish in the air of the others that were still there. All he heard were the roars of the Albertosaurus, the rushing river, and the heavy downpour.

He heard no _Pachyrhinosaurus_ from that side. It was then that a horrible thought came to mind. It was something that made the guilt he carried since leaving their valley become ten times worse.

They were all slaughtered.

But that was not all. His eyes gazed back at the water. Bodies of the others that died from drowning and getting hit by the logs drifted downstream. His eyes followed them; several herd members floated lifelessly on the mucky surface.

When his herd was at 400 strong in the beginning, they were now greatly reduced in number.

Horror, shock, fear, and guilt filled his heart like the rushing flood in front of him. His herd was slaughtered before his eyes and he couldn't do anything about it. He was so busy with making sure that the others made it across that he did not think about the ones that were buying them time. How could he leave him like that!? What has he done? What kind of a leader was he? It was his fault they died! And he did nothing! Again!

"Patchi?"

He looked back up at the top of the muddy bank. The figure of his mate solemnly staring at him only made the guilt inside him worse. He saw her stagger back when she looked into his sorrowful and pained face.

"We need to keep going," she said over the heavy rain.

"I killed them…" was all he said.

Juniper leaned a little closer, but so much as she would fall down. "What?"

Patchi shouted with red in his eyes. The tears he was shedding was mixed in with the rain that fell. "I killed them! I made everyone cross the river! But I couldn't help the others! It's my fault! I should have stayed behind!"

"Patchi! It wasn't your fault!" she tried to reassure him but to no avail.

"They're dead because of me!"

Just then, a small avian flew above Juniper's head down to the alpha. The two of them watched as Alex descended onto Patchi. Neither of them considered Alex's safety during the harrowing ordeal in the river. The bird had the gift of flight so he had no trouble with getting across, though his wet plumage was an annoyance.

Normally he would approach in a friendly manner. Patchi found sharp pokes piercing the top of his frill like miniature bee stings as his best friend pecked him unscrupulously.

"Ow! Alex!" he cried out from the pecking.

"Patchi listen to your _esposa_!" the Late Cretaceous bird argued at the downtrodden leader. "What happened today was out of your control! If anything, the whole _mundo_ is against us! It's your job to lead the herd. I know this is bad, but you have to move on! You are the leader of the herd, and right now, the ones that are left need you. Get them to safety, or none of us will make it."

Patchi looked back across the river. He did not see any Pachyrhinosaurus corpses, but he did make out the moving shapes of the Albertosaurus on the other side. They were scrambling around with their heads down. Some of them were hunched over before rearing their heads back. The smell of blood over the smell of earth faintly hit his nostrils. He left them and there was nothing he could do.

He had a choice on this dark hour. He either had to go and save the few from the carnivores or save his son and the three refugees. However, choosing one over the other would mean their deaths. He cared about his family and would help them in an instant. But he also cared about his herd. His mind roiled in conflict and fuilt.

Patchi let out a sorrowful moan to the sky. He took one last look on the other side of the shore and down the river. The bodies that floated on the surface were no longer visible. Either they were too far for him to see or they got dragged under was anyone's guess.

The pained alpha turned his back and made his way up the muddy bank to rejoin his family and the survivors. His heart felt like it was stabbed multiple times. The grief over the dead weighed heavily on him. He did his best to keep his head up, for the sake of the herd.

Sorrowful cries echoed into the night over the grief of the ones lost.


	9. Johannesburg

_**Darksage: Hey guys. Marc and Darksage are back with another chapter to LNoW. How did you like the previous chapter? Harrowing right?**_

 _ **Marc: That was really gut-wrenching. Sage, don't you think you went a little overboard?**_

 _ **Darksage: Nope!**_

 _ **Marc: So, to answer a few of your questions from the previous chapter, yes we included March of the Dinosaurs.**_

 _ **Darksage: Surprise! The old ankylosaur is an Edmontonia. Her name is Ilana, which means "tree" in Hebrew. Yes, some of the characters are from March of the Dinosaurs, specifically "Scar" and Ilana. They did not really talk in the movie they're from so we decided to give them personalities and names. Except for Scar, because he was already named in that movie. More predators are coming too**_ _ **.**_

 _ **Marc: Now for this chapter, we've done a couple things differently. Some of the mechanics in the chapter contents may seem a bit different (location/event-wise) but please bear with us. Let's just say that improvements in the system have been put in. We're also using real-life locations to make this as accurate as possible.**_

 _ **Darksage: Oh and another thing. The upgraded communicator that Hazel now has can only translate certain modern day animals. It will work on most animals, including some breeds of dogs. But heavily domesticated animals like cows, pigs, and the like will not be translated. It will also not work on modern-day bugs, rodents, and other animals that have an intelligence below that of domesticated pets. We just wanted to clear up any confusion.**_

 ** _Marc: Oh one last thing. When we mentioned "waiting room" in one of the previous chapters, that is where the Residents gather to be transported to Temporary Park. The Sabers were there just to drop things off._**

 _ **Marc: Other than that, enjoy this chapter!**_

Johannesburg…a few weeks later

Hazel cursed herself for being late. The plan she made the night before was easy and doable. She was supposed to wake up at 9:00, eat a quick breakfast, head to the restaurant across the street, and then make her way to the arena a few blocks away. Her timing was off as she miscalculated on how far away the Johannesburg Stadium was. Unfortunately, there was a line already in the restaurant by the time she reached it so she had to wait for 20 minutes before she could get a reservation. A whole line of people were there to get seating, and there was a good reason too.

The young athlete tryouts for the Olympic target archery division were today and a whole bunch of people wanted to see it happen.

Ever since Nigel's revelation to her about Temporary Park and going back for the three month/two year stay, Hazel had been preparing rigorously for that event. She had been reviewing her old karate forms and using her dagger (just in case she was ever in any danger, not that karate would help against prehistoric predators but the techniques would at least keep her fit), reading up on the plants that she would encounter, what kinds of geography would be in the area, the climate Temporary Park was in, as well as making notes on the inventory of what would be brought to the park. Not to mention she spent at least two days packing her things. Anybody who saw her would think she was overdoing it. She just wanted to be ready.

Of course, heading to Temporary Park meant that she would have little to no contact with the people in her time. Not only did this include Nigel and the rest of the senior employees in Prehistoric Park that Hazel befriended, but also her mother and sister.

Ever since the passed Christmas, her relations with her mother improved a little bit. They did repair their heavily estranged relationship, up to the point where they were on speaking terms again. Hazel would sometimes talk to her over the phone, but every other day or so. Her mother had improved on her reception too; it had something to do with her job easing up to give her time to connect with her family. And her relationship with her sister got better as well; she had no problem with her but she was happy they were talking more.

Hazel had only been with her mother and sister for a couple of days. She received the news that they were going to be nearby at least two weeks ago. Knowing that she was going to be in prehistoric Alaska for an extended period of time, she wanted to spend a bit of time with her family before she left. Nigel had no trouble convincing her either; her bags were already packed for the approximate week she was going to be with them.

All they did in Johannesburg was shop, check out the sights in the city and go on a safari in a nearby animal reserve. That safari was very interesting for Hazel, since she now gained the ability to understand modern-animal speak. It was by luck that the tryouts were in that city AND it was a relief that the safari was nowhere near Prehistoric Park. Hazel would never forgive herself if it was anywhere near that valley.

Hanna had given her the rundown of her life. Most of which was her doing well in school and the types of opportunities she took up or was about to take. One prominent one, which Hazel was already aware of, was her love for target archery. The young time traveler did not know much about archery, but her memories of watching Disney's Brave, Robin Hood, and the popular Hunger Games gave her the basic idea on how the sport was played. Apparently, Hanna was praised by her coach and the other athletes back at home that she was recommended in trying out for the Olympics. Why the Olympics coordinators chose to have the young athletes try out in some random city rather than in their respective countries was something she did not know.

Which led to the huge preparations and rushing of today. The restaurant was called The Smokehouse and Grill, located just across The Bannister Hotel. To Hazel, it reminded her of a barbecue/burger joint she knew of back in Florida; kind of like Applebees in a way. It was a decent place to stay in; comfortable beds, good room service, free wifi, and it was luxurious. If only she did not stay in bed for too long due to how comfortable they were.

"Oh great," she groaned as she ran down the street towards the stadium for the 40 minute trek. Her attempts at getting a taxi were fruitless as none of the vehicles were available to take her. "I wake up on time only to find a long line at the restaurant when I arrive. Fuck my life...I hope Mom and Hanna will forgive me for this."

Hazel kept cursing herself as she sped down the street. Passersby parted quickly to allow her to go through. People on their phones, walking with their significant others or families, or just walking on with their business found themselves stumbling when she weaved around them. She gave them a quick apology before going on her way.

She then found herself swerving around a street corner near an intersection. A couple of men were discussing the news amongst themselves when she ran passed them. The workmen, whom she assumed worked in a big company judging by their office attire, all yelled their complaints as she sped away.

"Sorry!" she quickly turned and gave them an apology.

Hazel then brought her phone out as she was running. Her eyes glanced up to see that her way was clear. She panted when she saw that the time on her screen read 11:43.

"Okay, keep it together," she told herself. "You're almost there. I just need to- Oof!"

The woman barely had any time to process what had just happened to her. Her butt met the concrete like a battering ram. Her rump ached with the unhappy greeting with the sidewalk.

"Ow!" she winced, her eyes tight as she tried to block out the pain. One of her hands ran through her head to massage the bruise that was forming on her forehead.

"What the heck is wrong with you!? Running into a lady without regard!" Hazel accused in a most defensive manner.

"Uh I'm sorry!" said the person she ran into apologetically, whom she identified as a young man. "I didn't see you there."

"Seriously, how hard is it to not watch where you're going?"

By the time she opened her eyes, she was looking up at someone that seemed like he was out of place. While she did not care too much about strangers, she found herself feeling a bit awkward when he was looking at her strangely. It was not menacing, but it was in a rather…interested manner; a manner that puzzled her immensely.

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To say that Daniel was content would be considered incorrect. He was not unhappy nor was he satisfied. He did complete the application papers for the "Central Park Zoo" in order to get in to this hidden sanctuary that Nigel Marven had created. His superiors had already gotten him into the system and notified him by text. He already had his essentials prepared since day one, he had a decent breakfast, and he got some more info on the layout of the land. Now he was headed back to the hotel room that the S.A.G.E.S provided for him for the night before he could board the bus to this park, which he was told was run by an employee of the park and was only taking "certain" passengers. His bosses must have known of their transportation system otherwise this mission would not work. If he remembered Director Rain's instructions, it was that he was scheduled to get on that same bus the next morning.

If anyone wanted an accurate way to describe Daniel now, he was anxious.

How would this mission go? What was he going to see? What were those employees like? What was Nigel hiding and why keep it secret from the organization he worked for?

Those questions mulled around his mind. He was going to find out soon. As he kept on thinking, he failed to notice the girl that ran into him.

Daniel grunted when he fell on his butt. His head ached and he was seeing stars.

"Ow!" said the young woman. "What the heck is wrong with you!? Running into a lady without regard!"

"Uh I'm sorry!" he started, his vision starting to clear up. "I didn't see you there."

"Seriously, how hard is it to not watch where you're going?" the woman spat.

Daniel was not a big fan of people who berate him for an innocent mistake. Actually, nobody is. He kept his cool and did his best to shrug it off. The young man's mind was made up on apologizing to her.

His vision may have cleared up, but he could have sworn he was still seeing stars when he stared at the girl.

She was young, about the same age as him. Her face was fair and her skin was the lightest shade of brown. The black locks upon her head were pulled back by a black claw clip. Her attire consisted of a loose navy T-shirt blouse and denim capris along with black and pink sneakers. Her neck and one of her wrists were adorned by a rope and bracelet with a ring in the middle. The light blue multi-pocket purse that was slung across her body lay flat right next to her.

When she opened her eyes, they were a deep shade of brown, almost black in fact. Her complexion was clear; not a single mark betrayed her features.

She was gorgeous.

Daniel quickly got back up and offered a hand to her. "Uh, are you alright?"

The girl opened her eyes and stared at him for a moment. She grasped his hand and was helped up.

Immediately, he felt something tingle in his palm when she grabbed it. His whole body felt warm and fuzzy, if those were the best terms to describe it. He could not explain it, but it was like something was crawling under his skin, in a good way. He felt good for some apparent reason. The whole world seemed to melt away the longer she held on; like the conversations of the people around them along with the city noises seemed to fade out. Why was he feeling like this? She was just some random stranger he bumped into.

Then, there was something else he had just noticed. This stranger was…familiar. Her facial features betrayed him of someone he met before…

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said before quickly retracting her hand.

Daniel inwardly frowned. The warm feeling in him faded as soon as her hand left his. His heart felt heavier all of a sudden. All of this he could not explain why.

"Uh I didn't mean to run into you. I-I'm sorry I did," he apologized cordially as best as he could through his embarrassing stammering. "I was just tr-trying to get somewhere."

"Really?" she breathed a strand of hair from her face. "Heh, well so am I."

Daniel looked around, his memory betraying him of where he was actually at in the city. His run in with her must have messed with his train of thought. "The truth is I don't exactly kn-know my way around here. I'm trying to get bu-back to my hotel after I f-found the bus station I needed to get to tomorrow but I got lost. I don't suppose you know where I can find the Garden Court Milpark Hotel?"

The woman, somewhat put off by his stammering, pointed behind her with a thumb. Daniel wanted to smack himself for not talking right. "Oh. That's just a few blocks down that way. The streets can be a bit confusing because of the number of turns but once you reach the main square there, you should be fine."

Her reassurance was enough to alieve the building anxiety that Daniel had. For a young woman, she seemed to know her way around here. Perhaps she lived in this city? Now if only he could fix his speech a little.

"Oh it's that way!" he shared a laugh. "I must have taken a wrong turn then. You must know your way around this city. Haha!"

"Eh, well enough to get around places," she nonchalantly replied.

He offered a hand. "My name's Daniel."

The girl scrutinized his every being. For someone a couple feet shorter than him, her attitude seemed to be like that of a hawk waiting for its prey. While he was kind of put off by her sudden approach, he found it rather amusing. And in a funny way, he found it adorable.

She then relaxed a bit. Her letting her guard down revealed her more welcoming nature. She took his hand and firmly shook it.

"I'm Hazel."

Daniel felt his hand warm up again, which was soon followed by the rest of his body. Why was he feeling like this to a total stranger? Yes, she looked fetching for someone who may be around his own age. However, they only just met. She was just some random person he bumped into.

Regardless of why this kept popping up, he enjoyed the feeling of her company… Wait, why that coming to his mind!? Ridiculous! He was supposed to be out preparing for his trip to this Prehistoric Park, not flirting!

Daniel was about to pull his hand back and tell her that he needed to go when the girl beat him to it. Once again, the warm feeling escaped his body. He pushed all negativities aside as he considered them to be distracting.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to get going," she said, taking a few steps passed him. "My sister has an archery match and I am VERY late for it."

"Okay," he said. "Uh, it was nice to meet you!"

The woman turned and smiled warmly at him. She gave him a two finger salute with her right hand. "Likewise. See you around!"

With that said, the girl ran off. Her form disappeared behind a group of incoming pedestrians, never to be seen again. Just like that, she was gone.

Yet, Daniel remained. He did not move from his spot for another few minutes. His thoughts went back to the previous moments of their awkward conversation. He remembered her voice and her face lingered in his mind like an ever-present fog. His heart weighed heavily as it longed for that warm feeling again.

" _Gah, pull yourself together!"_ he screamed inwardly. _"You have a job to do. This is no time for distractions."_

With that said, he continued on his way, but not before taking one last look behind to find her receding form. Something inside him tugged uncomfortably when he did not find a petite woman with silken black hair wearing blue.

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A couple hours later…Johannesburg Stadium

The sun dipped back behind the long clouds above. The sky was a subtle shade of light blue that would soon turn into orange. The heat in the stadium was already at its peak. Most of the audience had retreated into the shade beneath the indoor bleachers to escape the sun's rays.

It was a packed arena too. People from various countries had gathered to watch this event; over 30,000 people to be exact. Where the athletes would usually compete in specific locations within their countries for a spot in the Olympics, the coordinators had decided to try and do so in one specific location.

The Olympics were not going to happen in Johannesburg. This place was just to serve as the main deciding area for the young athletes competing for a place in the Olympics for target archery.

The arena was used mostly for athletics, but football and rugby was also held here. Right now, the turf lines had been mostly wiped and circle targets were lined up. Black arrows stuck out like them as if they were porcupine quills.

A young woman held her bow steady. Her final arrow was prepped in her quiver. Her red, white, and blue tank top and matching shorts had done a good job with keeping her cool. Her long black hair had been tied into a braid that was hoisted up like a ponytail. She never thought she would be in this sort of position, but she was.

Hanna had never competed this intensely before. The matches she attended back at home were with a smaller audience. Well, first it was local, which then evolved into regional, and finally into national. Her skills with the bow had earned her many gold medals and trophies. Her coach, a longtime mentor for at least 8 years, had recommended that she try out for the Olympics, given her outstanding record. The other athletes as well as some of her teachers and especially her counselor supported her.

She never thought she would be competing with over 100 competitors around the world. All of this was for a place in the archery event in the Olympics.

And now, victory was reliant on this one last shot.

The rules of target archery were pretty simple to her. There were twenty targets that the competitors needed to aim at. The whole match was set in three rounds. The athletes were given 80 arrows, where 4 needed to be used on one target. No firing on other targets except for the one in front of you. No cheating obviously. No using multiple arrows in one shot, the usual things in an archery event, especially a 90 meter one.

Hanna had done well with scoring for the most part. Most of her arrows hit the center of the concentric circles; some of them were just ajar from the target. Those were the ones where she was fully concentrated. Then, her arrows started to hit the outer circles.

She was nervous. She was the very last athlete in the event. Her score right now was 172; one of the highest in the list. One glance at the huge computer scoreboard and she saw that she was a little bit behind a girl named Judy Kilak, a girl from Great Britain with a score of 199. Kilak was one of the main qualifiers. If Hanna could just get above her score, she could take her place with 10 others who made it. Competition was tough for young athletes after all. The coordinators could only pick those who are worthy.

" _Relax Hanna. You can do this,"_ she told herself.

The 17 year old retrieved her final arrows from the quiver on her back. She positioned it on her bow that she got last Christmas; her first three fingers on her right hand grasped it and the bowstring. If she could hit a circle of 6 or above, then she could be qualified to enter the Olympics as one of the youngest athletes. Her success or failure all depended on this one arrow.

Hanna raised her bow and drew the arrow back. A sweat drop fell down the side of her cheek like a snail sliding on steroids. Her arm ached from overuse; it will surely be sore in the morning.

The center of the target fell in place just above the arrow point. It was easy; all she had to do was fire. But…she found her arms shaking. They were tired from having to aim and fire so much that they were starting to give out.

"Alright, this is it folks," the male commentator said on the PA system. His voice echoed all around the stadium. "This is Hanna Veran's last shot. Right now, her score sits on a borderline. If she could make a high mark on this last one, she'll find herself a seat in one of the many athletes going to the next summer Olympics."

"Hanna's gotten a good reputation back in Sarasota, Florida," the female commentator added with her silken voice. "She earned so many gold medals in the course of 8 years. If she makes this shot, she'll be labeled as the youngest archer in the US to ever enter the Olympics."

"Perhaps," said her partner. "Let's see if she makes it. She's already drawn her bow."

" _I wish those two would just shut up,"_ Hanna rolled her eyes.

Silence was what she needed, but they would not let up at all. They just kept jabbering away. And it certainly did not help that this was her moment of truth to get into the Olympics or bust.

This was it. It was now or never. She willed her body to still itself. Hanna readjusted her aim…only to find that her sweat was making it hard to hold onto her arrow.

She gasped. Her arrow slipped right through her fingers. Her own sweat had caused her to lose her grip. A frightened gasp escaped her throat as that thin black sharp point sailed passed her swinging bow.

"And she fired!" said the man in the PA system.

Hanna closed her eyes. She messed up and she knew it. There was no point in looking.

A faint thud echoed from the other side. Gasps and groans resounded from some parts of the stadium. Her heart fell when she heard what came next.

"Ooh! So close!" said the woman. "She had it right there!"

"One little slip was all it took. Our candidates have been decided."

Hanna opened her eyes. Tears welled up before falling in globs.

Her arrow had struck the 4 circle.

The athlete did not bother to retrieve her arrows, as it was customary in the sport. All she wanted was to get out of there. The cheers in the bleachers around her only made her depression all the more worse. The same went for the commentators calling upon the international candidates to come to the center of the stadium to be crowned as the young representatives of their countries.

She found the nearest opening into the interior of the stadium and ran for the darkness within. Her shame overfilled her heart like a tsunami. Her dreams of entering fame had been shattered like glass.

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Hazel watched in disappointment at what became of her sister. She could sympathize with what she was going through. The older Veran sibling had been in sparring tournaments before and tasted defeat. It took her a while before she could get a black belt too; so many bruises and sore muscles just to get that rank. But it was not about sports where she sympathized.

On her adventures into the past, Hazel had encountered worse defeats. She was exiled from the herd she was trying to help on her first adventure just for speaking out against her former superior. She came across a dead end when she and her friends were trying to get to the Nesting Grounds. She failed to save Kron from his inevitable death in the canyon. She felt the stings of heartache when the herd found out she knew about their home's destruction and her friends turning away from her when she revealed her secret. Heck, she was also reminded of that time when she failed to rescue Joel the _Diplodocus_ from that pack of _Allosaurus_ in the Salt Plains of the late Jurassic when he really gave his life to let the others escape.

Those defeats were painful, but they made her stronger in the end.

Hazel mentally noted to try to bring her spirits up after this, as long as she does not mention anything too classified. It was her job as a big sister after all.

The recently turned 21 year old had arrived at the stadium several minutes after it started. She found her mother, Beth, sitting at the top of one of the bleachers directly under the sunlight. Her head was covered by a visor and she was fanning herself with one of those paddle fans. Her maroon-colored blouse and long skirt were ill-suited for this climate and region. Perhaps it would be acceptable back in Florida, but at this time and place, her body was suffering under the heat. Her forehead and neck were already dripping with sweat. Her hair was put up in an up do, where the hair on her head had been teased to appear raised. Or in Hazel's opinion, "poofed".

Beth berated Hazel for being late. The eldest Veran child had to reason with her, saying that she ran into some trouble with reservations and helping someone with directions. Her mother scoffed and continued to fan herself while watching Hanna's progress.

Speaking of that stranger, Hazel found it odd about how he was looking at her before. His stuttering and good nature towards her seemed a bit disconcerting. Then again, it was probably because of the morning that was making her feel like that. He was a bit frazzled too. Maybe he just wanted to be on his best behavior towards her despite his stresses.

That was probably it. If he had ill-intent towards her, Hazel would be able to pick it up in a snap. Her time around the female Residents in the park, her adventures in the past, as well as experiences growing up had given her some street smarts. That boy, Daniel, he did not seem so bad. Then again, she knew nothing about him so there was also that.

"Well, at least I helped him," she shrugged. Hazel pushed those thoughts aside and focused back in the present.

"Come on Hazel," said her mother. "Let's go find your sister."

"Okay."

The two of them got up and worked on getting out of the applauding crowd. Their cheers on the winners gathering in the center of the stadium got louder as the minutes drew on. None of them paid any attention at all.

It was a matter of time before they were finally inside the stadium and away from the heat.

"Well, you win some, you lose some," Hazel said over the sound of her footsteps in the empty hallway. "I'm impressed though. Even I can't use a bow and she's the only one who can."

"It is a shame though," said Beth. "It would have been great to be in the Olympics. But at least she got some bragging rights. By the way, what was the name of the restaurant that you picked again?"

"The Smokehouse and Grill."

"Ah, that one. Well, I do have something for Hanna. Win or lose, she deserves a consolation prize."

"Me too. She'll love it," Hazel replied. She had gotten her sister a gift the previous day while the two of them were shopping in one of the malls. She hoped she would like it.

The two of them eventually found Hanna in the nearest women's locker room. She had been gathering her things into a duffle bag by the time they arrived. Her face was red with tears when they found her.

They spent at least an hour or so consoling her before they left the stadium for their late lunch/early dinner date.

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The Smokehouse and Grill…2 hours later

The restaurant was packed. Even with the Olympic tryouts now over, there were still a lot of people there who wanted to get a bite to eat. There was much talk about the events. It certainly did make the small family feel a bit uncomfortable when they overheard some of them talk about Hanna's attempt at her last shot. And it certainly did not help that the news stations on the TVs around the restaurant walls had talk show hosts talking about the event. It was a good thing nobody there recognized her. Hanna had adjusted her hair into a low braid and was in a yellow summer dress and wedges. The family did not want to get overrun by any paparazzi.

True to their words, Hazel and her mother got the youngest Veran child some consolation gifts. Both of them had the same idea apparently. The Olympics were tough and getting in there was like a one in a million chance. Their predictions on Hanna's loss were correct after today. Their gifts did work somewhat on lifting her spirits. Now those gifts lay unwrapped in colorful gift bags next to her on each side.

Beth bought Hanna a pair of gray fingerless workout gloves, an iPad 6th generation in the rose gold color scheme (with a red military grade case), and $1000 deposited into her bank account. Being one of the most reliable workers in APCO, the company she worked for, she did have her perks with high pay among other things.

Hazel, on the other hand, got her sister an Anastasia musical keepsake box that was adorned with rainbow crystals. It looked like it came from the early 1900s in Russia. Hazel certainly added onto that theme when she requested the song that would be played to be "Once Upon a December", just like in the Anastasia movie. That was one of Hanna's favorite movies back when she was little; from what she was told, she still watched it to this day. But the one thing that her sister appreciated was the engraving in the middle of the lid: "It does not matter if you win or lose. The most important thing is to enjoy what you have." Her sister did have a lot of jewelry back at home so she could use this to store several of them. Or she could use it for something else entirely.

Hanna appreciated the gifts, but she was still depressed. Both older sister and mother understood. It would take a while for her to get over this disappointment.

Speaking of gifts, Hazel had gotten her presents from her mother and sister as well. Before they got to the restaurant, they made a quick stop at the hotel room so that they could retrieve the presents they got her. Hazel was happy that they were also celebrating her late birthday, which was at least two weeks ago. Her mother got her an orange and black solar power battery pack that was capable of storing 16000 mAh. This item was something that she was glad she was getting, as it would be useful in keeping her phone fully charged whenever she went into the past. It will surely come in handy for the upcoming trip as well. Her sister had given her a small pack of feather hair extensions as well as a 12 hole ocarina songbook. Hazel had been looking at these when they were shopping together over Christmas. Her hair was growing long and she wanted to try putting some feathers on strings attached to a clip to try it out. And she was also practicing her ocarina every now and then; the songbook would give her some variety. Her sister must have read her mind and decided to get some for her birthday.

Their lunch at the Smokehouse and Grill turned out to be an early dinner for them. Beth had ordered the ribs and grilled calamari with a Caesar salad on the side. Hanna just got the house burger, which consisted of a home style beef patty, tomato, lettuce, red onion, and barbecue sauce. This came with a side of fries.

As for Hazel, she was more into the unique styles of food that restaurants or eateries specialized in. She ordered the Smoke House Burger, which was the home style beef patty with baby lettuce, tomato, pickles, caramelized jalapenos, rashers of crispy bacon and cheese. On the side were steak fries and green beans. Hunger had overtaken her by the time they arrived. When the food was placed in front of her, Hazel started to dig in like a carnivorous dinosaur that had been starving for days.

"Hazel!" her mother scolded. She ceased her voracious eating; her mouth was covered with bits of meat, barbecue and mustard sauce. She looked like an animal in the body of a human in that guise. "Smaller bites! And wipe your mouth! You look like an animal!"

Hazel swallowed quickly before placing her burger back on the white porcelain plate. "What? I'm hungry."

"Act like a lady!" she rolled her eyes. "Jesus, has being around Nigel all this time made you forget how to be a woman? Surely his female associates taught you."

Well, she was not wrong on that part. Suzanne did tell her off in the beginning for her eating habits. Hazel knew about table manners from experience but there were times when she would forget. Time and again the head vet would remind her on a woman's virtues. It took her a while before they finally stuck. Of course, Hazel would forget about them due to how hungry she was after working hard in the park or going off into the past where she was deprived of such human food luxuries.

Hazel felt shame-faced when her mother confronted her about it.

"Um…kind of. Sorry, I'm really hungry."

Her mother sighed. "Well slow down. Your eating habits are unsightly."

Hazel answered that by rolling her eyes. It was a good thing her mother did not catch her doing that.

Her mom looked to her youngest and gently stroked her back. Hanna being depressed had also resulted in her losing her appetite. Her attention was roused a bit due to her mother's intervention.

"Hanna, dear, you haven't touched your food. Aren't you hungry?"

Hanna pouted. She poked her untouched burger and glanced over her fries. Her meal had gotten cold within the hour. "Personally, I'd rather box these things. I'll eat them tomorrow."

"Honey, you did a good job today," she consoled. "It doesn't matter whether you won or lost. You got to participate in a tournament outside of the states. You got to represent your school, your state, and perhaps the country. This is already bragging rights."

Hazel wiped her hands with the napkin next to her. She joined in on the conversation, wanting to give her sister some uplifting words of her own. "She does have a point. There's always next year too."

The younger woman glared at her older sister, making her gasp in surprise for a moment. Not once had she taken any offence to anything she brought up.

"But all of my hard work was for nothing!" Hanna cried, slamming a fist on the table. The cutlery and the plates shook a little in her wake. "I was looking forward to going to the Olympics! I wanted to be on that pedestal, getting that medal! I lost because I miscalculated!"

Beth gave her a silent scolding in her features. When Hazel was younger, she always feared that expression her mother would make. And that was usually when she or her sister got in trouble. Hazel was older and braver. She had seen scarier things that made her terribly intimidated. But seeing her mother like this made her reminiscent and uncomfortable to say the least.

"Honey, stop. You're making a scene."

The family took a quick look around them. Several people were eyeing them from their tables on the scene that Hanna made. Both of them waved at them and quietly apologized to them without making much effort. The witnesses shook their heads and went on their business after a bit of coercing.

Beth gently squeezed her daughter's shoulder, not minding the fact that she was using a spare napkin to wipe her face. "Hanna, getting into the Olympics is a difficult endeavor. Not everyone would think about getting into it because it's hard. The chances are slim to none. But you decided to challenge those odds. You overcame your own limits by coming here. You put yourself out there just now. Yes, you didn't make it. The only thing you can do now is to work harder so you can get in. There's always next time."

Hanna sighed regretfully. "Fine…"

"Now eat your burger. It's getting cold."

Hazel quietly looked on, taking one of her fries and gingerly eating it. Deep down, she was happy that her sister was on the road to recovery. It would take a while, but at least she will get over it. And she was secretly happy that her mother was there to console her. She has been making up for her uncalled absences in the past. Her mom had definitely made some great strides in becoming the mother she should be.

Then, her attention was drawn to Hazel. The topic she brought up was something she prayed would not be discussed.

"So Hazel, it has been a while since we have seen you. How is work?"

The secretly recruited Prehistoric Park employee nearly choked on her fry. She cried out in pain as she felt her teeth pinch her tongue. Resisting the urge to scream, she grabbed for her iced water and sipped rigorously to push her food down.

Coughs escaped her throat for the next few moments before she quieted down. Her tongue ebbed with dull discomfort, but she more or less recovered.

Her family, on the other hand, looked on at her oddly with the type of reaction she gave. Hazel laughed sheepishly at the near mess she made.

"Oh. Um, great! We just finished having a five month safari out in the Serengeti. We were analyzing the lion and cheetah population. There was an imbalance of the sexes so we need to inform the scientific community about it," was her reply. It was a terrible lie unfortunately.

Hazel hated to lie, but it was necessary if the park was to be kept a secret. Both her mother and her sister would think she was crazy by blabbing out mentions of keeping dinosaurs, huge bugs, and prehistoric megafauna in their hidden sanctuary. Not to mention it would arouse suspicions from people around them thus leading to possible hunts for this hidden place. But mostly, nobody would believe her.

Making up these facades was the only way. It would further strain the relationship she was repairing, but it was necessary to keep her other family safe.

"Oh? You didn't tell us you were going on a safari?" Beth raised a brow. Her analyst side started to emerge. Hazel found herself getting into a pickle.

"Sorry," she secretly gulped. "I neglected to tell you."

"You didn't get bitten by mosquitoes?" her mother started going on with checking on her daughter's health, much to her dismay. "No sicknesses you caught? You didn't get any parasites or fleas?"

Hazel groaned. "No Mom. I'm fine. I took all my shots before I left."

" _Not that I needed any since I'm in Prehistoric Park where all that's isn't very abundant. Plus going back in time doesn't have any of that as long as you take precautions,"_ she mused to herself.

Beth relaxed a bit, ending her analyzing. "Alright. Well, Nigel informed me of another trip you are taking. He said that you two were going on a world trip to do some research and make a documentary of sorts."

Hanna, while quietly eating her now-cold food, had her attention roused when her mother brought up that type of topic.

"Oh," said Hazel. "He told you?"

"Yes. He told me that you were going to be out of contact for around two years. That seems pretty long to be off the radar."

"Yeah well," the Veran girl chuckled nervously. Sweat began to drop from her sides even though it was much too cool in the restaurant to do so. "We want to make a REALLY good documentary so we need to get all those details in."

Before arriving in Johannesburg, Hazel and Nigel had come up with the perfect cover story for her 2 year absence. The story would be that she and Nigel would be traveling around the globe recording encounters with animals around the world, much like how the Planet Earth and Blue Planet documentary series did in the past. Except this time, they wanted to do their own version. Analyzing, observing, and recording encounters in various animals in their natural habitats, as well as finding these animals, would eat up their social schedule. She, as in Nigel, would send her family emails every now and then explaining their "exploits" so it should cover for her absence. The rest of their inquiries, such as Christmas and the other holidays, would be left for him to cover.

Then, the plan would be that once the 2 year "trip" was over, both she and Nigel would say that the documentary was a failure. Nigel had some spare videos of his animal encounters in the past in his study so he would ask Marcus to compile them into a movie later on.

It was a haphazard plan, but it was effective.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" asked the concerned mother. "I'm okay that you will be sending me and Hanna emails every now and then, but what about the days when I do want to see you? I have a new iPhone now, I can use Facetime, and I can try to make some time in my schedule. I do have some leeway in my job."

"Mom, I'll be fine," she reassured. "The documentary we're making is demanding-"

"What about Christmas? Easter? Thanksgiving? Your birthday? Honey, just because you're going on a world tour doesn't mean you should cut off most communication. At least come by and visit every once in a while."

"Um…I'll try…" she said hesitantly.

Hazel worried about that. How would Nigel solve this? She was going to be gone for 2 years without any way to come back and visit. Video calling was out of the question. Maybe she could shoot a text every now and then but who knows how long it would be before they would get a reply. The Time Poles would be out of sync and communication would be distorted. Plus there was the risk of her replying back to a message that they sent months prior in their time. That would strain their relationship. She hoped Nigel would know what to say in those emails.

If there was anything that Hazel knew about lying, it was that it would always end up in a certain relationship turning into shambles. She learned that the hard way when the Herd in Prehistoric Park found out she knew about their home's destruction. She was knocked into the lake, suffered from broken ribs AND her brain was nearly fried to a crisp due to the communicator she had in her ear. She had to be hospitalized for a few days. Her family finding out about her secret would not be as harrowing, but it would surely be just as emotional.

Hazel hoped it did not have to end up like that.

"So…tell us more about your job," said her mother, who wanted to continue more on the subject. "You said you work in a sanctuary with endangered animals. What is it called? Where is it located? What kind of animals do you work with?"

The youngest employee tensed up. She did not predict that she would dig too deep into this sort of topic. Why did she have to be so analytical? Hazel quickly thought up some alibis she could use. When she had her answers, she quickly proclaimed them, hoping they would be enough.

"Oh! Lots of endangered species! We've got big cats, birds, elephants, some primates and a whole strew of reptiles. There's so many in the park that Nigel needed to hire some more people to take care of them."

Hazel heaved out a breath. She had said all that in one breath. Her mother and sister eyed her curiously with the answer she gave. Little did they know that she described pretty much all of the Residents in Prehistoric Park; the _Smilodons_ , Espantos, the dino-birds, the modern day plovers, the elephants and sole mammoth, the lemurs, the crocodiles (plus Irwin), and especially the dinosaurs and the couple of flying reptiles. She did not lie when she said that Nigel had to recruit more people just to handle the sheer size of the Resident population.

"Okay…" said Beth. "You still haven't answered our other questions."

"Um…it's a secret," she did her best to stop her mouth from quivering. This situation was certainly getting worse by the minute. Her urge to check the clock on her phone was being kept at bay, though she was failing as the moments passed on. "I can't exactly tell you…"

Her mother narrowed her eyes. Hazel kept her breathing under control. Her heart raced faster, as if she were back in the Late Jurassic when she was being chased by those _Dilophosaurus_. Her mother was not a dinosaur or anything, but she could be just as horrifying as one. Hazel faced worse than her, but seeing her mother angry and straining the relationship again was not in her agenda.

"Why not?" inquired her mom.

Hazel gulped. If she revealed anything about the sanctuary by accident, she would never forgive herself. Mustering her courage, she revealed only what they needed to hear without revealing anything classified. "Because it's a hidden sanctuary. If anyone knows about it, word about the place will eventually get to poachers and all of our Residents will be in danger. Plus it's not really made for the public eye."

"So you can't tell us? Your own family?" inquired a now calm Hanna.

Her older sister shook her head. "I'm sorry. It's our protocol."

"I see…" said Beth.

"I can tell you it's somewhere a couple hours away," she told them bluntly.

"Uh huh…" her mom leaned forward as if she were the boss in a company staring down a lowly employee. "Are you sure you're not keeping anything from us? Anything major?"

Hazel put up a frantic humored façade. Her laugh was like that of a hyena calling out to the rest of its pack. "What!? Pfft! No! I'm not keeping anything from you! Nothing to worry about!"

Neither her sister nor her mother took her seriously. Their eyes locked onto her as if she were someone that had just checked into a mental institution. Hazel ceased her façade and went into her serious manner.

"I'm serious! I'm not hiding anything!"

The two of them stared at her for a few more moments. Then, as if her prayers had been answered, they dropped the subject.

"Well, I suppose I can't push any further on this topic," replied Beth, much to the woman's relief. "You are just upholding your...sanctuary's protocol. Still, I was hoping you would tell us a bit more about your job, or at least the people you are with. But I suppose that is not my place to know. What time is Nigel coming tomorrow?"

"Um, 7:00 AM. It's to avoid traffic."

"And when will you start your world tour?"

"Whenever Nigel feels ready."

"Hm...knowing that man he may be ready by the time Hanna graduates high school. I hope you don't leave for your trip in the near future. We will miss you."

Hazel made a sad smile. She was glad that she decided to drop the subject on investigating her line of work. However, when she brought up them missing her, Hazel could not help but feel the same way. Sure, she would only be gone for 3 months in her perspective, but to them, it would be 2 years. Nigel would be the one to primarily talk to them, and that is using emails that are not in her words. Hazel vowed to at least send a message or two herself from where, or when, she is at.

She never thought that this reunion she was in would be their last one in a while. Just thinking about it was tugging at her old heartstrings for her core family.

" _No. I will see them again. We just need to stay strong. Nigel will handle with reassuring them of my absence. I need to handle leading Temporary Park on my end. Mom and Hanna need to keep it together while I'm gone. This is my future in the works,"_ she told her conscience.

"Well, let's finish our dinner. I'd like to get back to the hotel soon," Beth picked up the fork and knife on her napkin and resumed consuming her ribs along with what was left of her calamari.

She placed a piece of rib and squid in her mouth and chewed quickly. "I want to teach the two of you some new hairstyles that I picked up recently that I think will look good on you."

Hazel grimaced. The hairstyles that her mother did were not to her liking. The styles she was into were like that of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. The young woman had her own sense of style. Ponytails she was into. Short hair was just as fine. Braiding she can tolerate. Holding her hair back with a claw clip in her own up do was acceptable. But teasing her hair, trying to put some volume at the top of her head like a miniature beehive or forming it into a bun? Now those she abhorred.

For the first time since she started to feel regretful for leaving her family after rebuilding their relationship, Hazel eagerly awaited the hour when she would get to sleep to go back to the park. At the same time, her heart inside tugged sadly at the thought of leaving them again.

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The next day... Bannister Hotel Parking Garage

7:13 AM

The parking garage next to the hotel was quiet. In fact, it was an eerie silence. The lines of cars parked in the rows stood inactive in their places like silent guards. Dawn was already impending; the sky was slowly becoming a lighter dark blue by the minute. The birthing sun would come out just passed the tall buildings in the east. Anybody nervous to go out alone would be shivering with apprehension when standing in the middle of an empty garage where the possibility of getting mugged was out there.

That was not the case right now. Hazel continuously watched her back while Nigel packed the last of her things into the trunk of the gray jeep. So far, there was nobody around. Her mother and sister were just coming through the connecting doors off to the right. Much like yesterday, they were both in outgoing classy attire.

Instead of a long skirt, her mother was wearing pure white capris. Her shirt was a navy-colored sleeveless popover shirt with black flower designs. Her hair was tied into a low ponytail with a gold metal band keeping it together. Her shoes were now brown and gold Michael Kors flats.

Her sister matched her mother's style. Her shirt was now a pink blouse with petal-shaped sleeves. Short denim capris covered her legs and black wedge sandals adorned her feet. Hanna was two inches taller than her older sister, taking it from her mother's side of the family. But with the wedge sandals, her height was further pronounced. And like yesterday, her hair was tied back into a braid.

"There we go," said Nigel, who was flexing his arms after hauling Hazel's things into the trunk. "That should do it."

Hazel looked back and saw the work Nigel did. Underneath a huge canvas tarp that was strapped by cords were a myriad of supplies. Gas tanks, survival supplies in duffle bags (no doubt for her to use during her stay in the past), and several bags containing things she had no knowledge of were lined up in the trunk. No doubt her mentor did a bit of shopping of his own recently. Apparently there were shops in Johannesburg that opened up as early as 6:30 AM.

"Hazel, are you sure you have everything?" inquired her mother.

Hazel turned and met her uncertainty with a confident grin. "Yes Mom, I have everything. Anything that I am missing I can just ask Nigel."

The mentor in question approached the small family. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Hazel welcomed the feeling.

"She is right, I do have a surplus of survival equipment."

"Do you have flea shampoo?" she continued her tirade of determining the safety measures her daughter was going to take. "Pantyhose for when you go swimming in jellyfish-infested waters? Remember not to relieve yourself in the waters of the Amazon."

Hazel felt her face get hot with embarrassment and borderline annoyance. "Mom!"

"Don't worry Beth," said her mentor. "She'll be fine. I've been training her for years. She can handle this."

"Make sure to contact us, every other day. I don't care if you are busy. Just notify me or your sister that you are okay, preferably me."

The young time traveler inwardly groaned. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

Nigel chuckled and headed off towards the door to the hotel. "Alright well, I'm going to take a trip to the loo," he took a glance back at Hazel. "Once I'm back, we'll be off."

"Okay. I think I'm going to head back in and get myself a snack for the road ahead," she replied, following him towards the door.

But before she did, she gave her mother and sister a tight hug. They were going to go and have breakfast in a popular city café as soon as they left. Saying goodbye to them now was the wisest thing to do. As she held onto them tightly, the homesick pangs tugged at her insides like a raptor having its first meal of the day.

"You be careful, okay?" her mother said. "Text me to let me know that you are back at your job, okay?"

"Okay Mom. I'll do that."

"I'm serious," she pulled her away and gave her a serious stare.

"Mom, I'm not a kid," Hazel sighed.

"I know, but you are still my child. I only want you to be careful."

"And I will."

Hazel then turned to her younger sister. While she was quiet and reserved, she did show some small tears that were welling up in her eyes. The older Veran sibling pat her on the back affectionately to reassure her. "You look after our mom, okay? And stop worrying over what happened yesterday. I'm proud of you. You've got some bragging rights to bring home. Keep practicing and you'll be in the Olympics next year."

"Okay. Thanks, Ate," Hanna hugged her sister again, using the Filipino title for an older female sibling.

The hug lasted for no more than a few seconds. Once they pulled away, their mother spoke up with bits of tears in her eyes as well.

"Alright honey, we best be going. We don't want to get caught up in a long line in the most popular cafe in town."

"Have fun!" Hazel waved at them. Her homesick pangs eased up, but she knew that it would get worse later.

Duty called her to go. Hazel left her two family members behind, joining her park mentor and father-figure at the door into the hotel. The two leaders, both current and in-training, gave them one last look and wave before they went through the glass double doors leading into the quiet hotel lobby.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Hanna watched her sister go, she felt her heart get heavier with lovesick pain. Her sister was going to go on a world tour, where she would have little to no chances of visiting or contacting her. Besides her mother, Hazel was the only other person who lifted her spirits from her disappointment yesterday. She talked to her, in the hotel lobby in the middle of the night, about overcoming defeats and that they would make her stronger.

Hanna knew that her sister went through losses in karate competitions. She was there when her sister attended them. It pained her to see Hazel get kicked and punched around by bigger people. It was a competition, but still, she felt worried that she would collapse from her injuries. Yet, she got back up and kept going, even though she was met with losses. Karate was not the only that brought her down either. Hazel told her examples from when she was in school too.

The youngest Veran child felt uplifted when they had that talk. She was doing a good job of being an older sister, despite their years of limited contact. Hanna regretted not speaking to her more often. She had her own life after all, but the other reason was because she did not want to get caught up in the family feud she and their mother were having, along with the fear of getting on her sister's bad side. She should have done something to try and patch the relationship, but her overall fear stopped her.

True, Hanna was upset at her mother for having limited contact with her children, but it was not as major as her sister. She told her mother off for being incompetent with both of them a couple of times. Then, on the year Hazel went to live with Nigel over at his "job", wherever that was, their mother came back and decided to patch things up with her. The two of them made up soon after.

Now that things were starting to look up, her sister was going to travel around the world for something as demanding as a documentary.

As interesting as Hazel's trip sounded, Hanna could not help but feel that something was off about her explanation. She seemed rather rushed in her speech and her sister was quick to try to change the topic. It was like she did not like to talk about her job. Actually, it was almost like she was hiding something.

Hanna was not the only one feeling like her sister was hiding something.

Beth turned to her youngest child, her sad features immediately changed to resolve.

"Let's hurry and get in," said her mother.

The two of them ran over to one of the nearby cars to the right. They retrieved their travel bags from the silver Corolla's right. Two duffle bags, a pink and a yellow bag, and two large backpacks of the same color were packed to the brim with all of their supplies. Each of them put their arms through the straps and hoisted the duffle over their shoulders.

"Mom, this isn't a good idea," Hanna told her mother while rushing back to the jeep. "Aren't we intruding in her life by doing this?"

Her mother opened the hatch and lowered the door. She lifted the canvas cover and started parting things off to the side to create a little space within. "Hanna, she is my eldest. Out of the two of you, she is the one that took the brunt of my absence over the years. I want to see that she is okay. Besides, I don't trust a single word of what she told me about her job yesterday. There is something she isn't telling us, and I want to know what it is."

"But this isn't right!" Why can't we just leave her be? She has her own life now."

Beth scoffed and made a cold glare at her, which was enough to make her back up a bit. "She may be an adult, but she is still my child. Whatever secrets she has, we need to know too. Now get in before they get back."

Hanna sighed. She followed her mother's lead and placed their bags on both sides of the compartment. With how large and cushion-like the bags were, they would serve as cushions on the sides during their trip to wherever Nigel and Hazel were going to.

The two of them climbed into the trunk. Her mother grabbed for the trunk door and snapped it back in place. The last thing she did was grab the canvas and pull it over the two of them.

Hanna huddled close to her mother. They stayed still, keeping their breathing to a minimum. The cover went over the tallest supplies, which were the bags and the gas tanks, so their forms were well hidden.

It did not take long before they heard Hazel and Nigel return. Neither of them made much conversation except for making sure they had everything and something about being excited to go on a trip. Hazel cut off the topic when she told him that she was tired and wanted to "catch some more z's".

The sound of the doors shutting was followed by the surprising start of the engine. The jeep roared to life, startling her. Hanna had to put a hand on her mouth to prevent her from jumping. Goodness, this thing was loud.

It was not long before the vehicle started moving. First it was back and then it was forward. Both she and her mother held onto the straps of their bags, the only things that they could hang onto for this trip. Hanna felt the rush of pressure go over her body when the jeep sped up.

She prayed that this trip would answer both of the questions, as well as to not drive a wedge in their family. She also hoped that wherever Hazel's job was, it was safe.


	10. Cat's Out of the Bag

Hanna felt like hurling. Her head pounded like a jackhammer was hitting against it. She tasted the bile in her throat. Her forehead ached too due to all the bumps the jeep rode over. At any second, she could vomit from the movement. What was worse was the heat. It was a scorching day. The canvas may have shielded them from the sun a bit, but the heat trapped in the trunk was not helping them. She and her mother were sweating like crazy, almost like they were going to pass out from a heat stroke. If it were not for the water bottles they packed, they would have.

The archer felt like screaming every time the jeep went up. She wanted to just pop out of the canvas and tell Nigel to stop. Exposing herself would be a godsend, just so she could recover.

But her mother would not allow that, not when they were so close. They were there to find out what her sister was hiding. Demanding to be taken to her secret place was out of the question. Her sister would not allow that to happen at all. Hazel could just make up some kind of excuse to leave them in the dust or make an alibi.

Her sister would never leave them behind, but her mind pestered on what she was hiding. So Hanna kept quiet, stifling her screams and nausea.

She had no idea how much time had passed. She and her mother tried to take naps, but they ended up being short rests due to being woken up by the jeep going over something sharp like a rock or a bump. The items in the back would go up an inch or so before coming back down. Hanna could see why riding in the trunk was considered a hazard to most people. Getting tossed around by items in the back was an invitation to a quick trip to a hospital. Broken bones and concussions were a probability. Thankfully, neither she nor her mother was seriously injured. All they sustained were bruises on their bodies.

"Hazel, rise and shine! We're here!" she heard Nigel say.

"Ungh...we're here already?" Hazel roused from her apparent nap.

"You were out like a light."

Hanna heard her older sister yawn. "I guess I was."

"So yesterday, I told everyone at the park to start moving our supplies to the temporary facility. Right about now, they should be nearly done with moving the Residents. Everything should be set before the end of today."

"Oh? How are they coping with the new place?" she asked.

"They're adjusting. It's a new place for them, but they'll get used to their surroundings. Did you pack everything?"

"Yup. Everything I needed was in those bags I put in front of my room."

"Okay good," said Nigel. "Those have already been taken to your quarters. I'll have one of the volunteers lead you there when you arrive."

Hazel sighed. Something creaked in the front of the jeep. What she was moving up there, Hanna had no clue. Maybe she was adjusting her chair?

"Okay. Are you sure about this location? I know Martha and the Big Guy are up to it, but I'm not too sure about everyone else."

"Relax Hazel," he reassured. "The place you're going to is in the middle of the summer season. Other than some nippy days, the climate should be accommodating for everybody. But it doesn't hurt to be prepared for any unexpected cold chills either."

"I'll take your word for it."

Hanna and her mother looked at each other, puzzlement clear on their features. Hazel told them she and Nigel were going on a world tour to record a nature documentary. What they had just overheard contradicted everything she said. She never said anything about going to a temporary facility in the middle of summer. And Residents? Were they referring to the animals in the sanctuary? Why would they need to be moved? Who were Martha and this Big Guy? Were they a couple of animals?

Then, before she could ponder more on it, they felt the jeep slow down before coming to an abrupt stop. The two of them had to grip on the flooring just to prevent themselves from sliding forward.

The jeep had arrived at its destination; that much she was sure of.

The sound of the squeaking jeep doors flew open before crashing on both sides against the vehicle.

"Well, time for us to get a bite to eat," said Nigel. "Can't continue with moving on an empty stomach."

Hazel giggled at that. "I'm going to get a stuffed omelet."

The voices of the young woman and her mentor faded as they left the jeep. Other than the chatter and the commotion caused by the employees passing by, whether by vehicle or not, they were practically alone. As soon as it was quiet, her mother placed an arm on the canvas and straightened herself. The heavy, rough cloth flopped on itself with a "plap". Fresh air and a cool breeze met her skin like an old friend greeting her after an eternity of separation. Hanna propped herself up, wiping her brow, face, and everywhere else on her body from the sweat that plagued her.

The two women unlatched the door of the trunk. Gingerly, they disembarked onto the grass of the unknown location. Taking a quick look, they saw employees chatting amongst each other as they carried what looked like construction supplies and wood in various directions. None of them seemed to take notice of the two stowaways as they went about their day.

The place they were in did not seem anything odd. They were expecting to be in some kind of small town or a heavily guarded place filled with military personnel. The staff, while armed with what looked like sniper guns of some sort, was dressed in brown shorts and dark green polos with what looked like a snake curling around a label.

Towering mountains coated with forests that reached the base surrounded a lush, green valley. The weather was clear, not many clouds coated the sky. Birds tweeted above them and the smell of wildlife reached their nostrils. It was practically a safari paradise here.

"So this is where Hazel works now…" her mother looked around slowly.

"Where are the animals?" Hanna asked, trying to spot any of the "Residents" that her sister and Nigel were talking about. Her head was now throbbing a little less by the minute thanks to them not moving anymore. It was a miracle she did not vomit during the trip.

"No time for sightseeing. Right now, I want to get a good look at this place," Beth sternly proclaimed and walked straight ahead.

The teenager hurriedly caught up to her, but not before quickly shutting the trunk shut. They did not want it to see too out of the ordinary with the trunk left ajar.

"But what about Ate Hazel?" she brought up.

"We'll deal with her later."

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Several minutes went by. Hanna followed her mother into this mysterious place. As they went along, they found small buildings situated in places close to the animal enclosures. Most of them were only a single floor, but others were up to three floors high. Each enclosure encompassed a distinct habitat for whatever was living there. She found it odd that most of them looked like they would be situated in a tropical or temperate setting; ferns, cycads, palms, and other plants she could not name directly were planted there. It wasn't just the plants either. The whole enclosures looked like what a setting would be in the wild.

But there was something off about them. There were no animals. Hanna immediately thought back to the conversation she overheard between her sister and Nigel. They must have already been moved to that new location. She was curious on what animals they were. These fences were far too large for any normal animal in a zoo. They were far too expansive. And each one of them had what looked to be like an encased generator in steel coverings. What kind of animals would need all this space and what was with those generators?

As she took in her surroundings, they had caught the eyes of the wandering employees. The workers cast them odd looks; some of them whispered amongst each other. Some of them asked them of their identities and where they were headed. Her mother would always reply that they were "friends of the head of the park" and were invited here by his invitation. Half of that was true. It was quick thinking on her mother's part. The employees would just leave them alone before leaving their helpful offer in the air.

"Now, I want to see why Hazel was keeping this place a secret from us," her mother said, after explaining to another worker their "reasons" for the fifth time.

"It looks like some kind of zoo," the archer remarked. "I don't know where the animals are, but nothing seems to be off about this place, except for the lack of animals of course."

"Well keep your eyes peeled," her eyes darted from left to right. "We don't know what sort of things we'll come across here."

It was then that Hanna noticed movement off to her right. Her body froze and her breathing became shallow. Knots developed in her stomach. Her arms started to tremble. Like an antelope in headlights, she found herself unable to move from what she was looking at.

"Um…Mom?" she called out.

"Oh and get your phone ready," she said, not seeing what was coming at her. Her mother was looking up at part of the surrounding mountains in the opposite direction, admiring their beauty. "I want to call Hazel when I'm ready to talk to her."

Hanna croaked out again. "Mom?"

"Not now, dear," her reply was followed by a squishing sound, along with the woman crying out in disgust. If Hanna had been paying any attention, she would have seen that she had stepped on a pile of fresh animal dung. "Agh! Gross! Do they let these animals run about!? What kind of zoo does that!?"

Not having any more of her lack of attention, Hanna screamed out to her without taking a glance back.

"MOM!"

She looked at her with a frustrated face. Her task of wiping her favorite shoe clean of the feces on the grass was proving to be harder than anticipated. "What?"

When her daughter pointed towards the right, her eyes turned into saucers. Her mouth fell agape as if rocks had been stuffed into her lower jaw. Hanna did not need to look to see that her mother was frightened. The gasps and frightened partial screams were enough to tell her that. Hanna had never seen her mother so afraid, much less heard her act like it.

She was about to learn about first hand as the towering red horned monster and its associates stomped towards them.

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Diablo was not having a good day. Sure he did not care about the whole move to a new location, but being babysat by a group of armed humans and some carnivores that supported their ideals was not to his liking. He'd rather stay and fess up to whatever projects they were doing rather than go with everyone else to this new place. Of course, he was told that their projects would involve keeping him up at night for the next two years, something he would really be irritated about. Between staying here without having the annoyance of knowing that there were other Residents living in this valley without a care, but putting up with the annoying "construction" that the humans were going to do or being in a new location where he did not have to put up with the expansion racket yet have to deal with everyone else's' presence, his answer was obvious.

If the ones that he abhorred to the point that he wished to kill them were not present, then his revenge would be moot.

So the Carnotaur agreed to the move, on the condition that his transfer would be supervised by several armed keepers and a couple of large carnivores that would keep him under control should he decide to rebel. One of them was one he knew full well; Terrence, the younger of the twin Tyrannosaurus that lived in the valley. The rex had grown a bit since he last saw him. He was several inches below the towering _Carnotaurus_. If Diablo had decided to attack, the dappled grey and pale green rex would have no trouble overtaking him.

Of course, he was joined by two others. Diablo had never seen these two, but he heard of them, thanks to the constant ramblings of that blasted Terror Bird. They were a couple of rescues that the Veran brat brought in after a mission into a time called the Jurassic. They were smaller than both him and Terrence by a bit, but nearly the same size. They were both the same species, save for the fact that one was a female and the other male. Both of them had slate grey skin with vertical black stripes on the back. Their eye crests were red, almost looking like horns. Much like the rex that was stalking him from the back, they had a slender build, especially on their snout; a direct contrast to Diablo's short muzzle. And like the rex, they lacked the bony horns and tiny spikes that Diablo had on his back.

Diablo could take them on. He had contended with two T. rexes before. But if he tried to, he would be quickly overtaken. Three large carnivores plus a group of armed humans were odds that he could not fare against. It would be a waste of energy.

He hated that blue wretch and his herd the most, but he also had a bone to pick with the humans of this place. They kept him locked up in that wooden prison. Their cause to "allow Residents to live in peace" was utter crap to his nonexistent ears. Not to mention they would fire their weapons on him whenever he tried to break out of said prison. Sure, they fed him and kept him healthy, but such hospitality made him uncomfortable. He was raised in a time where it was kill or be killed. Getting excessive treatment like what the humans were doing was…unsettling. However, as time passed, he became tolerant of their actions. They were looking after him, keeping him alive.

It was an ongoing battle in his mind on whether to continue hating the humans or not. That Veran brat was practically the only human he hated the most, but even she was beginning to mellow up to him, even if the signs were minute. The only reason why he hated her was because she was friends with that blue wretch and his friends. She was also the one who deprived him of the chance to take out his anger, and get a decent meal, on that leaf sucker's herd. His mate died when one of his kind caused a cave ceiling to collapse on them. Only he survived the avalanche.

Then again, she only fought to protect her friends and she did save him from that fall down that canyon. The passed "winter festivities" had revealed a kinder side to her. She catered to his celebration of The Feast of Tarnac by giving him piles of meat.

" _Humph, as if I could get along with anybody here,"_ he huffed.

Then, the oversized Carnotaur caught a whiff of something off in the air. It was faint, but it was present. It was a smell that he had gotten used to the whole time he had been in this place. Each creature had their own scent signature, but this one was something he knew all too well. It was the Veran brat, but it was more prominent, as if there were _two_ of them.

Two of them? He could barely stand one! How could there be two of that human? Unless…

He looked around, until he finally found his answer.

Diablo pressed forward, with the humans yelling in surprise and the other carnivores going after him as he strayed from the desired route. He stopped as soon as he was close to the two human females that had that scent. They were dressed differently than the brat, but they bore some features similar to her. One of them looked like she was younger than her and the other was older.

"Well, what do we have here?" he rumbled, lowering his snout so he was at their level. The human females cowered in his presence like frightened deer. "Some new faces it seems."

His escorts caught up to him. The other predators flanked him on each side, with the humans putting distance between him and the strange women. The trespassers stammered and screamed as the other keepers told them stay back.

"Back off, you big lug," the _Allosaurus_ known as Big Al growled at him from this right. He was soon joined by the female, which he recalled was named Alyssa. Both of them growled threateningly at him. "You hurt them and I'll-"

"Relax shrimp," he laughed sadistically. "I just want to take a look at them."

Then, one of the keepers was foolish enough to try to push him back. Stun gun aimed for his head, the man hollered at him with his weapon at the ready.

"Keep moving Diablo!" he warned, the gun cocking loudly. "You've got someplace to be!"

Another human warned the women, whom he gestured to back away with one of his hands. "Ladies, get back! This is a highly dangerous motherfucker!"

Diablo, annoyed by how irritating the situation got, bared his teeth at the man.

"Quiet! Call me that one more time and you'll find your head detached from your neck!" he cautioned in his most beastly manner.

The human that called him out staggered back a few steps. The rest, minus the carnivores that surrounded him, did the same. Even the females that he was inspecting cowered still.

He then glared at the other human that was ordering him to move; when he was a few feet from his muzzle, now he was at least ten feet away. "And you! I will not hurt them. I merely want to inspect them."

Seeing that they were warily eyeing him, he knew that they were heeding his words, albeit reluctantly. Diablo took a good whiff at them, their hair and clothes rustled as he did so. He almost laughed when he saw them gag when they smelled his breath. But that was stopped when the scent hit his nostrils. He himself recoiled in disgust when his senses registered the smell.

"I knew it," he growled in distaste. "You smell like that Veran brat. Judging by your appearances, I wouldn't be surprised if you were related to her."

The human females continued to shiver in fear. No words escaped from their maws. Their eyes were filled with terror at the immense monster that was before them. While Diablo abhorred anything in relation to the Veran brat, he could not help but be amused by the relatives being afraid. And he knew full well that they could not understand him. They did not sport that earpiece that would translate a thing he was saying. All they could hear were inaudible grunts, growls, and roars from him.

Diablo chuckled viciously. "Are you scared of me? ARE YOU!?"

That last phrase made them gasp in horror. The carnivores around him growled intensely, their teeth bared and ready to strike at him. The other humans readied their weapons, prepared to fire their annoying electric shocks.

"Good," he replied, not minding the ill circumstances he was in. "I don't want to deal with any Veran kin today. Now SCRAM!" he roared his full beastly call at the women.

His threat had its intended effect. The women screamed, turning tail and fled in the other direction. The screams in his ears were grating; his hearing may have been lost if they were louder. For being so small, humans had one of the shrillest voices he had ever encountered.

While he laughed at how amusing they were from sending them off, the humans surrounding him yelled at him for his actions. The _Allosaurus_ and the lone rex roared and berated him equally. Diablo did not care. At least he got some fun out of this pseudo-punishment.

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Martha looked upon her extended family. All of them did their best to hide their sorrow on what was about to happen today. While none of them were agreeable to going to a new land due to some "biological schedules", they could not do anything to hide the sadness of one of their own leaving for that land, even though it was temporary.

As they made their way to where the portal was to be activated, the matriarch decided to ask her once more about the topic they discussed this morning.

"Martha, are you sure you want to go through with this?" Mujaji pressed again, who was catching up to the lone mammoth.

"Yes Mujaji," replied Martha. "There will be days when we'll experience some cold days and mostly everyone here has not experienced that. We will be in a time that will be warm, but they will still need guidance."

"Oh alright. I cannot stop you then. We will miss you though," the elephant matriarch twirled her trunk around her adopted sister's, who in turn gave her a gentle squeeze.

"I will too," the Ice Age denizen returned the gesture. "You are all my family. It saddens me that you cannot come."

The elephant leader lifted her trunk. She placed it on the mammoth's thick-furred shoulder before giving squeezing it as well. Martha welcomed the feeling, like her own family from the past would do to her.

"Do not worry. We will not be parted for long. By the time you and everyone else return, this land will be rejuvenated."

She was not wrong. The valley was lush with so much green when Martha first arrived there. There was so much vegetation that it was a contrast to the icy world she came from. But with all of the free-roaming Residents living there, it was not long before the plains started to look a little barren. Several of the low-lying vegetation at the base of the mountains showed little signs of recovery as the dinosaurs capable of eating at the greenery stripped them clean.

Now with the whole transfer to the past for "3 months/2 years", the whole place should be a lot better and bigger once they return.

Martha was happy that her new home would recover, but she was still saddened that her whole family was not going to come with her. Among her herd, Mujaji and her calf were the ones she was closest to. Mikiya was a bundle of joy to the Pleistocene pachyderm. Innocent, cheery, and outgoing, she was someone she would sorely miss. The young calf was her niece in everything but blood.

And that very niece became so saddened by the mammoth's departure to the past that she had not been seen around the herd since that morning at breakfast.

"Say, where is my beloved niece?" Martha brought up. She took a quick look back at the herd, hoping to catch a glimpse of a trotting little calf coming up to her. Her heart ached when she found no such calf.

The matriarch sighed and rubbed the top of her head, an equivalent to a human doing the same in a frustrating situation. "I do not know. If I had to guess, she was distraught in your leaving of this place. I had one of the keepers go off to look for her, but he has not returned. Well, if she is not found by the time you leave, I will send her your regards."

Martha frowned. She was well aware that being away for some time would also mean that her niece would grow up without her around. By the time she comes back from Temporary Park, the little calf would already be close to her teenage years, if not already. "It's a shame...I wanted to say goodbye myself."

Her ears, though miniscule yet flipping against her, suddenly perked up. Elephants are known to have very sensitive hearing. They could detect sounds as low as 14 to 16 hz. Martha may not be an African elephant, but her hearing was just as impressive. She could pick up sounds from miles away.

Her impressive hearing picked up something in the air. It sounded like individuals in distress. They were screaming. Other than a few other Residents that still remained in this time, such as the modern day crocodiles, birds, and the male elephants, they were the only ones there. The few prehistoric Residents still in the park were in the process of being escorted to Temporary Park. The only others that remained in Prehistoric Park were the humans that worked there.

Martha had been around humans long enough to know how they sounded like when they screamed. So she was already on alert when she picked up on the signs of distress.

"What in Great Spirits is that?" Martha asked, turning her massive head towards the left.

Her action was followed by the rest of the sisterhood, who also picked up on the sounds. Murmurs and clamors erupted in the herd as they tried to discern what would make a human scream. Some of them worried that it may be something bad, like one of the predatory Residents going rogue.

"I do not know," said Mujaji, who was spreading her membranous ears apart to allow the sounds to reach her ears fully. "It sounds human, but what would cause them to act this way?"

Their answer came when they saw what was coming to them in the distance. Running with their hands waving in the air and hair flopping in the wind were two human females.

The elephants were not afraid of humans, but they did wonder what would make them be so afraid. The Sisterhood looked ahead of them, hoping there were not such predators. They all relaxed when they found there were none.

They were, however, puzzled at the two arrivals.

Martha witnessed the Sisterhood part ways for them. Taking a good look at the humans, she saw that they had tan skin and black hair, much like the Veran child. The younger of the two seemed to possess a bit more muscle than the young Prehistoric Park employee. The other, a much older female, looked to possess characteristics of the youngster with her and a bit of Hazel.

It was then that Martha made the assumption that these two may be in direct relation to Hazel. She knew from her stories that the Veran girl had a long-standing feud with her mother. Her familial problems transcended for years before it came to an end just months ago. What the mammoth did not know was that any of her family was coming this day.

It was odd because Hazel made it clear that she would not dare expose this valley to anybody on the outside so carelessly. Martha got the idea that their home was a secret from the world after many conversations with Nigel and the other keepers about that very topic. She got the idea that the world was not ready for them, at least not yet. The mammoth did not care about exposing herself to outsiders. The world was a vastly different place than what she was used to. Outsiders becoming acquainted with this place would take a long time, something that Martha was in no rush for.

But encountering outsiders, especially Hazel's own kin, was certainly odd.

"What? I did not know we were getting any human visitors," Mujaji turned to her adopted sister, who nodded in agreement. "I thought this place forbade any outside interactions."

Martha chuckled. The women skidded to a stop before her and hugged each other tightly. Fear and apprehension were clear on their faces. The mammoth understood their plight. This must be their first time seeing a mammoth after all. Unhindered by their reactions, she did her best to put on a good first impression.

"Well, if they are visitors," she glanced at Mujaji before returning to the humans. "We might as well be on our best behavior. My name is-"

Her attempt was foiled when the shrill screams of the humans reached her ears. Being an animal with powerful hearing had its perks and its downsides. Having such sensitive hearing also meant that the loudest sounds could hurt your more than others. Martha and the other elephants trumpeted in surprise; agony reached their craniums at breakneck speeds. All of them fidgeted uncontrollably.

"Ow! That hurts!" one of the females complained.

"Tell them to stop!" another whined.

"It's hurting my head!" screamed another.

Before Martha or her sister could try to calm the two, they found the strange humans darting passed them towards who knows where in the park. The other elephants gradually relaxed when they found the sources of the screaming fading from their senses.

"Oh dear…I wonder what has gotten into them?" said the Ice Age megafauna. As she watched them disappear towards the direction of the Holding Pens, she wondered about what would cause them to act this way.

She hoped that if Hazel were still around, assuming they were her relatives, she could clear up any misunderstandings they had.

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Hanna nearly lost her footing when she stopped. Her shoes had gone over a slick spot and she lost some traction. After what she and her mother went through, her mind went from either some dropping water, her going over something moist by accident, or an animal that urinated on the spot.

The youngest Veran's brain was having a hard time processing what she had just seen. _Real_ dinosaurs and mammoths were in this place! What she thought about prehistory had been drastically changed. Those animals were supposed to have died off 65 million years ago; mammoths even earlier. But here they were, walking around without a care in the world! And they were nearly eaten by that big red stout-faced beast! Was that a T. rex? No, it couldn't be. It was too bulky and had horns to be one. Maybe the other one that was following it? It was a possibility; it did have two fingers in each arm.

Then there were the employees in the place. They weren't the least bit concerned about their presence! Were they talking to those things before? Did they go crazy? What was this place!? Was she going crazy? If her sister slipped something in her morning juice before she left then that drug was working. But those things looked all too real to be fake. Plus, her sister would not do something as deceitful as that.

Her chest and throat ached with each breath she took. She and her mother had been running for what she thought was the whole park. Then again, this place could be bigger too. Sweat once again ran down her body; the breeze that came to her eased her of the heat.

Hanna's mind felt like it was about to implode. She was equally worried about her mother and wondered how she was taking it.

"Mom...did you see...what I just saw?" she gasped, looking at her mother next to her, who was hunched over onto her knees.

The woman eyed her with disbelief and plain shock. No other words would describe her reactions in this state, for those would be the most accurate. "You mean those dinosaurs and that wooly mammoth? Then yes!"

"Okay good. I'm not going crazy," Hanna straightened herself up. They were in the middle of some sort of forest. Looking over to her right, she noticed a few buildings suspended from the ground, though they seemed to be a few ways off.

She jumped at the sound of cawing above. Looking up, she saw they were just regular birds, not dinosaurs. Hanna wanted to slap herself. She feared of anything in this valley now. Any sound could be some dangerous dinosaur, or worse. The only thing she found respite in was that there were no other dinosaurs when they were running to this forest, so they seemed to be safe for the moment.

It astonished her that the people in this place would allow animals to roam around. Letting dangerous creatures out is a zoo keeper's worst nightmare. Yet they did so without minding anyone else's safety. Well, those keepers were armed with weapons and did tell them to back off as that huge red monster was dangerous. They did have those gun things or whatever so it looked like they had it under control.

Control…did they control these animals? They were talking to those carnivores. Did they teach them commands of some sort? If they did, then they really needed to work on it for that horned creature.

At least they had a way to defend themselves. Those guns seemed sufficient to do some harm.

Wait, Hanna did have a weapon! Her bow! But it was in the trunk of that jeep, which was all the way back in that building they left. Those monsters may still be roaming about there. Going back would be like offering themselves up like a dinner platter.

If they needed protection, then they would need to improvise. At least they were out of danger, for now.

"What the heck is this place? Some kind of ripoff from Jurassic Park?" Hanna blurted while looking about the forest in place.

"How could Hazel keep this from us!?" Beth exploded. Her fury and rage became ever so clear on her features. If Hanna had an overactive imagination, she could have seen her mother grow claws when she curled her fingers in front of her. "She could not trust us, her own family, with something this big!?"

"Well, in her defense, even if she did tell us, I don't think we would have believed her," she said, defending her sister. While she was shocked about being in a place filled with relics of prehistory, she had an idea that her sister would not be able to explain to them of her secret. Even she was having a hard time believing they were in this place.

"Hanna, I do not want to get into this!" she made the youngest daughter fall quiet. She knew better than to upset her mother more. Experience had taught her that. "Now, call your sister. I want to have a talk with her on this place. Animals running about without cages. And dinosaurs no doubt! If she thinks I'm going to let her stay here with all of these monsters, then she is sorely mistaken!"

"Well, what I want to know is why everyone else doesn't seem too scared about them," Hanna brought up, thinking about the keepers and the carnivores that they were with. "Sure those other guys had those guns pointed at that T. rex and...whatever those other things were, but they didn't seem as scared as we were. And, why were they talking to them?"

She fell silent again when she saw an angry glare meet her gaze. Her mother revealed her gritted teeth, her face taking on a hint of red.

"Hanna, call your sister."

The archer rolled her eyes, hiding the fear that she bore. The girl took out her phone, an iPhone 8 covered by a grey and white Otterbox. Upon pressing the circle button at the bottom, a screenshot of a lily in a pond appeared on the screen. She typed the 4 number password in and started to work on calling her sister.

"I hope Hazel has a good explanation for this...she is in big trouble!" Beth exclaimed.

Unfortunately, that outburst had done more harm than vent out her anger. A squawk sounded off from their right. The path that was once clear stood a 10 foot tall creature. Well, to be more accurate, it looked like a large, flightless bird that was covered in yellow feathers with a hint of black.

Hanna felt her stomach drop when she saw the creature rasp and squawk while coming towards them.

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Espantos was just minding his own business. He had finished with moving his things from his enclosure to his new enclosure in Alaska. It was a lot of things; his laptop that he always kept hidden, his knitting needles and yarn, his various board games, his video camera that he rarely used, so many novels that he obtained via "classified" means, his huge collection of printed/written fanfictions, and other Knick knacks that any keeper would spend forever with organizing. It took him days to transfer those items to his vacation home, and he did so in between his courier times. Of course, with so many things in tow, he needed to use some of the jeep doors to haul his things over. Many of the trinkets he owned were thanks to his new Super Awesome Best Friend Ellis who indulged him in his interests; he really should get him a thank you present for all he's done.

With the whole move and all, he found it odd that no human was going off trying to tranquilize him during those times. He soon found out that Nigel had told everyone not to mind his zaniness and that he was just working on moving his things.

Today was like a freebie for him. He wanted to take one last look at Prehistoric Park before leaving for the field trip. He knew the field trip would last a while, in fact, he was beginning to think it may be more of a retreat or something. Sure, he would miss his first friend Nigel Marven and his other buddies, but he also had the rest of his neighbors, the Hazelnut, and his super awesome best friend Ellis to keep him company.

He was going to miss this place. The Terror Bird pondered on what this place would be like once he got back. Maybe they were going to add candy trees and a chocolate river like that one book that had that human who made fantastical candy. That would be a super awesome addition. He tried to pry Nigel of any hints on what he was going to do, but all he got was "it's a surprise".

Espantos loved surprises. But the tension on the wait was what the agonizing bit was. He wanted to know what was happening!

He was about to go ask Nigel one more time when he came across something strange. Not one, but two human females stood in the forest he was walking through.

The _Phorusrhacos_ knew everyone in the park; from the youngest hatchling to the biggest sauropod. He knew what everyone liked, what their personalities were, their favorite foods, everything! Yet, he had never met these two before.

Curiosity getting the better of him, the Terror Bird decided to get to know them.

"Oh! Hello! I didn't see you there!" he greeted.

As he approached, he saw them gasp and back away in surprise. Espantos thought nothing of it. This was a rather common occurrence whenever someone new met him. The last time it happened, it was with those new people who started living here a while back. They were sure surprised when they saw him. Then, after a while, they started to get to know each other and he was friends with them. Though for some reason, they would start yelling at him. He had no idea why, he just wanted to strike up conversations with him. He usually took it as them being busy or something.

These ladies seemed to be taking the whole nervous approach with him. Realizing his mistake, he adjusted himself.

"Oops! I guess I kind of overdid it there," he stopped just a few feet from them. They still cowered in shock. "I am Espantos! I've never seen you two around here. Where are you from?"

Neither of them gave any answer. The older female merely cowered behind the younger one, as if using her as a shield.

"Oh? Not the talkative types? Okay! Well, I'm from the Miocene period in the wilds of South America. My species is known as a _Phorusrhacos_ , but you can just say Terror Bird. I'm a long-time friend of Nigel Marven by the way. Have you met him? He's a really nice guy."

Still no answer came from them. They just stammered, but ultimately, no words came out.

Then, upon taking a good look at them, he saw something that struck up a realization. Why he did not see it before was his own fault. But the uncanny resemblance to one of his friends just made him all the more excited.

"Wait a Strike-Tagging second, you new ladies have the same hair and eyes and my best friend the Hazelnut! And since one of you is older, no offense, and the other is younger, you must be her Mom and sister! Oh my gosh, this is great! What are you doing here? OH OH! I know! You must be here to throw her a surprise party! Ooh, this'll be great! We'll all be hiding, waiting to surprise the Hazelnut, and then we'll all jump out and scream: SURPRISE!"

Regrettably, his way of introducing himself to two humans who have just met creatures who they thought were extinct came out as threatening to them. The ladies screamed and ran down the path. Espantos, thinking that it was some kind of game, decided to follow them; their screaming had done nothing to hinder his hearing.

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Prehistoric Park Café…

Hazel stepped out into the sunlight, full from eating a much needed brunch after a 4 hour long journey. One Southwest-style omelet and a Nutella crepe plus a glass of orange juice were a sufficient meal for her. She was glad the park café had an omelet station that ran for the whole work day. Nigel had an omelet too, only it was just a Mediterranean style omelet; he was a vegetarian after all.

Before the two left the café, Hazel thought it would be wise to get into a change of clothes that were better suited for the environment she was going to encounter in Temporary Park. When she came out of the ladies bathroom, she was dressed in a blue long-sleeved V neck with a black hooded sweater vest and denim jeggings. Black combat boots covered her feet due to how rugged the terrain may be. It was a good thing she decided to bring her spare change of clothes in another bag before her other things got shipped to Temporary Park. The only item left was her brand new purple and grey travel backpack, which had her favorite items such as her laptop and charger, her phone charger, a new glass waterbottle she recently got over her Christmas vacation, her father's dagger, and some other items of value to her. She wanted to keep those items close as she wanted to be the one to handle them just in case.

When she stepped out in the mid-day sun, her body became blasted by the African heat. The café was a favorable cool temperature, so going outside was like stepping into a hot summer day. It was nothing she couldn't handle.

Nigel's radio erupted with the sound of a man's voice and the static of the radio frequency.

" _Kevin to Nigel,"_ he said before becoming silent. His voice sounded rather urgent.

While Hazel was told to try and get to know the employees of the park, at Nigel's behest some time ago to add on to her training to be a leader, she could not tell which person this was. There were at least 5 people in the park that were named Kevin. Nevertheless, she drowned that conversation out, thinking it was something not important.

"This is Nigel. Go ahead," Nigel replied after retrieving the radio from his side and pressing the button to reply.

" _We've got a bit of a situation here at the infirmary,"_ Kevin said in a more stressed-out tone. Screams erupted in the background before the call cut off.

Hazel's interest was then piqued. She wondered what kind of trouble was occurring. Surely not a breakout; all of the Residents should have been transferred to Temporary Park by now. The woman then thought about equipment trouble. Perhaps one of their supplies decided to malfunction and was wreaking havoc.

"What's going on?" Nigel answered, remaining calm yet sounded concerned.

" _Well first, Espantos is there. He's causing quite a racket."_

Both she and the head park leader rolled their eyes. While the Terror Bird had been in the park for a long time, new parts of his personality just seemed to pop up every now and then. But him causing havoc as a result of some of his zaniness was nothing out of the norm in Prehistoric Park. Usually it would be because he was trying to retrieve something for a project he was doing, he was having a party, or, very rarely, someone accidentally gave him chocolate. The last one was a worst case scenario. Espantos was a kind soul; he may appear threatening, but he had a good heart. His darker side, however, would always appear if he was fed chocolate.

To Hazel, he would be the equivalent of a Nazi brigade plus a Grand Theft Auto character high on mushrooms mixed together. It would take forever to try to trap him and get him tranquilized; he would always run out of their range before they could fire their guns.

"Did somebody feed him chocolate?" Nigel asked wanting to make sure it wasn't the worst case scenario.

" _No."_

"Thank God," the woman muttered.

"Then what's happening?"

" _He's chased two strangers up a column of cushions. I don't know who they are. I've never seen them before."_

Hazel felt her heart drop to her stomach. The mention of strangers had made one of her fears come to fruition. Prehistoric Park becoming discovered to the public was like a death sentence to her life in the park. This place was a haven from the ravages of the outside world. The Residents here lived in peace, where they could start anew. The long-time goal was to help extinct species to flourish again, but that process was a gradual one. The Residents were not ready for the public eye, and neither was the world.

Hearing that two unknown strangers had wandered into the park borders right under their noses was a nightmare coming to life. This place was about to get exposed, and it would not be long before thousands of people would come here just to see its relics of the past. And worse, the idea of poachers coming to hunt down the Residents to sell to the Black Market would undermine everything they've been working for. Her family, getting hunted down like animals; no, she would not let that happen!

Hazel balled her fists. Thoughts of hurting the strangers for wandering into the park with ill intent dominated her mind. It would increase tenfold if any of them dared to hurt her friends.

"Strangers?" Nigel asked, doing his best to hide his worry.

" _Two women,"_ Kevin started. _"They don't look like employees either. I think they might be tourists. I don't know why nobody phoned this in earlier!"_

The young time traveler looked to her mentor. Dread crept up in his features like flames eating at a dried log. There was no doubt that he was feeling the same way as well, though she knew he would not go towards a violent route.

"Are there more of them? Is there anybody else that came with them?"

" _No. They were the only ones. We've been trying to get Espantos to stop, but he's too preoccupied with trying to get to know these girls that he's scaring them!"_ he yelled into the radio over the sounds of stun guns firing. The screaming in the background got louder and louder.

"What do they look like?" Nigel questioned loudly over the sounds of the screaming.

" _Um...one of them looks to be in her forties I think. And the other looks younger, like a teenager barely out of high school. What's even weirder is they both kind of look like Hazel."_

"WHAT!?" the girl exclaimed, making Nigel jump a bit.

For a moment, Hazel thought her heart stopped beating. Her world slowed down as those words echoed in her mind. They "looked kind of like" her. The woman began to hyperventilate. The public may not have found this place, but the second worst scenario was coming true. There were only two people she knew of that fit those descriptions. A teenager barely out of high school and a woman in her forties were dead giveaways to her.

It did not take her long to put the pieces together. Her mother and sister had followed her to Prehistoric Park.

She paced in circles around Nigel, her hands running through her hair. Hazel incessantly said "Oh my God" continuously. It was only through Nigel's intervention by placing a hand on her shoulder that she did stop. He quietly told her to calm down, which she hesitantly complied to.

"Kevin, try to get Espantos away from those two," he spoke into the radio. "We're on our way!"

" _Yes sir!"_ the man on the other side hung up for the final time.

The two of them looked at each other worriedly. Hazel did her best to make her heart beat slow down, but with little effect.

"Oh my God. This is bad. Really bad! How did they get here!? They couldn't have followed us! We would have noticed them!" Hazel was almost in tears.

"No time for that," said her mentor. "Come on, we need to get to the infirmary."

None of them said a word as they made their way towards the large warehouse where the large Residents would be taken in emergencies. They hoped that nobody was getting seriously hurt in this misunderstanding.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the Infirmary…

Things were chaotic in the airplane hangar-sized infirmary. At least twenty keepers were gathered there, all of which were either armed with a stun gun or a tranquilizer gun. All of them were aiming at the Terror Bird that rushed around a stack of mats against the back wall.

Hanna and her mother cowered in fear of the Miocene hyper carnivore that stalked around them. Out of some miracle, they were able to run from him without being mauled over. Espantos was faster than any of them, yet they did not know that he did not wish to knock them over and devour them. In fact, they had no idea that he was only playing with them.

Espantos knew how fast humans ran; that was from experience on getting chased by keepers for stealing their stuff. It was a game of tag he wanted to play and he was going easy on the two women. The frightened ladies had run towards the large infirmary and found safety by climbing a stack of mats against a wall, one that Espantos could not scale due to his anatomy. The only other thing he could do was to jump up to meet them, but that would only last for a few seconds before he dropped onto the ground.

The keepers kept on firing their Taser stun guns at the Terror Bird, but he would just weave out of the way of the line of fire. Those that did manage to hit him became shock-faced that he was barely affected at all. He would stop for a moment before he continued his rabble. Those that tried their luck with their tranquilizer guns had equal trouble as well; Espantos was just too quick for them.

"Hey! Are you two trying to relax up there? Make room for me! I want to have a nice view too!" he called out to the women up top.

"AAHHH! Get that beast away from us!" Beth screamed.

"Please don't eat me!" Hanna added, hugging her mother for dear life.

One of the keepers fired his stun gun, the wire going for the avian's neck. He groaned when he found the wire barely touching his body, only nabbing onto a few feathers as he moved away.

"It's okay ladies! Just stay calm! We'll take care of him!" he tried to reassure them.

"Why is he not in a cage!? What kind of a zoo is this place to let animals run free!? I'm going to have a talk with your superiors about how you run this place!" the Veran mother ranted.

"It's not a zoo!" corrected one of the on-site vets.

"Whatever! Just save us!" she screamed again when Espantos jumped high again.

"Aw come on!" Espantos whined. "Can you at least come down? Or help me up! I want to play whatever game you have!"

"Espantos! They don't want to play! Now stop it! You're scaring them!"

As much as the vets and keepers were doing their best to tell the Terror Bird to stop, the Miocene predator seemed to ignore them. He was so intent on wanting to get to know the new visitors that he filtered out any warnings that the humans were telling him. His excitement got him so riled up that he was starting to lean into the mats a bit too much that the tower started to shook a bit with his added weight. The women on top screamed for dear life at the sudden force the bird was giving it.

"AGH! Help us! Help us!" Hanna clutched harder on her mother.

"Oh! Sorry!" the avian stopped for a bit and looked up at the top. "I didn't mean to do that! I'll save you!"

"No! No saving! You'll only make it worse!" said another keeper.

Unfortunately, Espantos did so again. His drive in rescuing the helpless humans only made the tower shake again. The mats wobbled from side to side like an unstable stack of cards. The women up top screamed again, this time holding onto the ridges of the wall for futile support.

"Oops! Too close!" the bird yelled again. "Someone give me a stool! I'll pick them up and jump off with them like Black Panther!"

"What the heck!? Black Panther!? You don't even have arms!" yelled another keeper, who was just as annoyed as everyone else on the situation. "Also, how do you know about that? You haven't even seen the movie!"

"Yes I did!"

"What!? How!? The DVD isn't even out yet!"

Espantos giggled and then shushed at the crowd behind him. "A magician never reveals his secrets!"

"ESPANTOS!"

Upon the call of his name, the Terror Bird peered through the crowd. The humans parted an opening for a new person to come through. Espantos gasped with glee when he found his friend the Hazelnut and first friend Nigel Marven coming through. And neither of them looked too pleased with what was happening.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At Hazel and Nigel's intervention, everyone stopped what they were doing. The employees were at ease, now that their superior and his apprentice was there to calm everything down. Hazel rushed up to them, eager to nip this particular problem in the bud. As Hazel approached the _Phorusrhacos_ , Nigel urged the keepers to lower their weapons. Seeing her family precariously perched on the tower of mats, Hazel wanted to find out WHY her mother and sister were here, but she put that train of thinking on the backburner. She would rather deal with the Terror Bird's antics than deal with the potential fallout with her family.

Seeing her older sister approach the obviously lethal predator, Hanna was instantly gripped with fear. The younger Veran sister gasped in fright. "Ate Hazel! Be careful!"

Unknown to the human visitor, causing bodily harm to anyone was the last thing on the Terror Bird's mind.

"HAZELNUT! There you are! I was wondering where you were! I found some pretty ladies who look just like you! If the face, skin, and hair color did not give it away, I would say that they're your family!" Espantos happily squawked.

"Yeah I noticed." Hazel dryly commented.

"Why didn't you tell me they were coming over? Oh I could have fixed up my place to make it more presentable! Are you planning to have a party with them? Why wasn't I invited!?" Espantos inanely rattled off, eager to make Beth and Hanna's acquaintance.

"Espantos, there was no party! They somehow snuck into this place without my knowledge." Hazel said exasperated. She took a moment to glare at her frightened family, irritated at the lengths her mother and sister would go to snoop into her private life. However, she couldn't deal with that at the moment; a certain bird's behavior needed curbing. "Now, I know you want to meet them, but right now, they need a bit of space. I need to talk to them so that I can help calm them down. They've had a long trip and all the excitement here is a bit much for them. Let me talk to them first and, I promise, you can meet them. You understand?"

She was met with a vigorous nod. "Yes! I can clean up my place in the meantime!"

Hazel rolled her eyes and gently reminded the Terror Bird. "Espantos, remember the 'field trip' we're having?"

"Oh...right…" the _Phorusrhacos_ said with sadness before immediately perking up again. "I'll go clean up my vacation home then!"

"Okay, you go do that. I'll see you there." Hazel neutrally said as she prompted the Terror Bird with a pat.

"Okay! Bye Hazelnut! Bye Hazelnut's family that I will make friends with later!"

Espantos ran off to get to the open portal towards Temporary Park. With his things already in the past, he just needed to sprint on through the portal. Nigel, satisfied at how Hazel handled the situation, turned around and gave his orders to everyone else.

"Alright everyone! Nothing to see here! We've got this under control. There's a lot of work to be done before the end of the night so I want everyone to get back to work!" As employees were filing out, he walked in step with a Keeper to question him. "Where is Mitch? I want to talk to him about inventory on our supplies?"

The Keepers and other employees hesitantly separate and get back to work per their boss' instructions. As Nigel was exiting, he stopped next to Hazel and then whispered in her ear.

"Hazel, I'm going to be a bit busy getting things back under control. I should be done in the next hour or so."

Hazel, catching on with the message, replies. "No, I've got this. This is a family matter. You just go ahead and continue with the transfer."

Nigel was concerned but nodded. "Alright. The portal will be closing soon though."

"I know. Let me know when it's ready."

"You have something in mind?"

Hazel whispers something in his ear. After a moment, Nigel nods.

"Alright, good luck Hazel."

He leaves to get everyone back in shape and finish the remaining jobs around Prehistoric Park. Hazel approached the mats just as her mom and sister were climbing down. Hanna was the first to reach the ground and Beth soon followed, albeit with a slight stumble.

"Sorry about that. Are you two—?"

 ***SLAP!***

Hazel's head whipped to the side, with a red handprint emblazoned on her cheek. Snapping her eyes forward, all she saw was her mother's angry eyes and her hand crossed her body, evidence that she had indeed slapped her. Although pain wasn't a foreign concept to Hazel, it was a long time that her own mother physically disciplined her. She was more shocked that her mother struck her than the feeling of the actual stinging sensation slap.

Hazel gingerly massaged her cheek as she backed away from her mom. "Okay I probably deserved that..."

At her daughter's seemingly casual dismissal made Beth explode in an angry tirade. "You stupid, idiotic, selfish girl! How dare you keep secrets from me! Your own mother!"

"I'm sorry! But I only did that to protect my friends!" Hazel shouted, standing up to her mom.

Beth scoffed. "Friends? Not the integrity of this...pseudo-terrorist zoo!?"

The young adventurer rolled her eyes. "First, it's not a zoo, it's a sanctuary. There's a difference! And second, I kept this from you to protect this place AND my friends! And third, 'terrorist zoo'? Really Mom? Don't you think that's a bit much?"

The older woman scoffed at her daughter's "naivety". "Friends? What kind of friends would allow wild animals, or more specifically, man-eating DINOSAURS roam about without cages!"

Hazel rubs her temples with her fingers and sighs. This was going to harder than she thought. Her Mom didn't even like dogs, so seeing all kinds of prehistoric wildlife was causing her mom to have a slight panic attack.

Beth slaps her hips and laughs in an uncomfortable manner. "So this is why you couldn't tell us. You were keeping dinosaurs around like pets!"

"Mom-." Hazel tried.

"What the heck are you thinking!? Keeping dangerous animals around! Extinct ones too! How could you endanger yourself day in and day out knowing that they would eat you at any day!?"

"It's not like that! They're our friends!"

"Your friends?" Beth scoffed. "How can they be? They're beasts! And what was that about before? Why were you talking to that...that...big ostrich?"

"If you let me explain, then maybe you'll see what's really going on."

"Good! I think we ALL deserve an explanation."

Hazel sighed as she led Hanna and her Mother towards the outside of the infirmary.

"Follow me."

"Where are we going?" Hanna asked.

"The café. You two must be hungry. Following me and Nigel to this place is a 4 hour drive from Johannesburg. It's also more comfortable to have a talk there rather than being in the middle of a bustling infirmary meant to house giant dinosaurs."

She turns around and starts to head over there, with her mother and sister hot on her heels. Hazel dreads whatever was about to happen next and hopes that Nigel completes the transfer soon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Prehistoric Park cafe...

The Verans sat at one of the tables. The cafe is pretty deserted, since everyone was helping with the big move and all. Hanna and Beth were eating some soup and salad from the bar, one of the only food items currently available at the moment. Hazel was sitting there at the table, sipping some chamomile tea (with this stressful situation, she needs to calm herself down a bit), contemplating how to break the ice.

Beth and Hanna retrieved their items from the jeep they snuck in on. Their luggage sat on the side of the exit of the café, just for their added comfort. Hanna took it a step further and had her bow and quiver lying against the café table. It was more like a comfort blanket for the cautious Veran sister; despite the many attempts Hazel made to inform her family that the Park was perfectly safe.

After a few minutes of quietness, Hazel decides to break the silence.

"So...I know you two have a lot of questions. But first, I'd like to say I'm sorry for everything that has happened to you and for...keeping all of this from you."

"We were scared Ate." Hanna started, taking a sip of water to calm her nerves. "We met some big meat-eaters that wanted to eat us."

"Which...ones?" Hazel asked, arching her brow.

"Well...the first few I'm not really sure what they are. I think one of them was a T. rex. Two of them looked exactly like each other and were colored grey." Hanna recalled. "And the last one was big, red, and had horns. He was roaring at us and... We were scared!"

Hazel groans and rubbed her temples.

"Okay, sorry about that. First, the T. rex was most likely Terrence. The grey carnivores you described were Big Al and his mate Alyssa. Those guys are friendly _Allosaurus_. Were they surrounded by keepers?"

"Yeah. They had guns."

"Okay. Just to clarify things, the keepers and those three carnivores were there to make sure the big red guy, Diablo, would not cause trouble." The older sister informed.

"It sure didn't seem like it..." Hanna grumbled.

"Diablo didn't hurt you...did he?"

Hanna shook her head. "No. But he scared us."

Hazel nodded in understanding. That sounded like something the ornery _Carnotaurus_ would do. "Okay I'm sorry about that. We're working on his behavior. He's not very tolerant with new faces and kind of has a grudge against everybody in the park. Those guys were just transferring him to a new location, which I'll spare you the details on. What others did you meet?"

"Um...a wooly mammoth?"

Hazel chuckled lightly.

"Martha. She's friendly, don't worry. And she's herbivorous."

"Okay. I thought she was going to hurt us there. Then there was that big...bird thing."

"Yeah, that's Espantos. Again, sorry about him. He has his own way of socializing with people. He may look menacing but he's a really nice guy. Think of him as a big parrot with the brain of a ten year old."

"Is he a...carnivore?" Hanna asked with trepidation.

"Yes. But he won't eat humans. He knows who his friends are."

"Okay that's enough!" Beth shouted as she slammed her hands on the table, causing both girls to jump. "Hazel, your sister and I have been through shit, trying to figure out what you do for a living. We nearly got eaten, were sent running around this place, and got harassed by an overgrown ostrich!"

"Terror Bird." Hazel dully said as she sipped her tea absently.

"I don't care!" The mother shouted again. "I don't care if that was an ostrich, a T. rex, or a Saber tooth cat! You owe us an explanation!"

Hazel managed to hide a smirk behind her cup of tea. If only her mom knew the park had both T. rexes AND Saber Cats. Hazel then sighed and set down her tea. She hoped it would not have to come to this but judging from the circumstances, she didn't have a choice.

"Alright fine. I'll tell you everything. Just promise me to not talk until after I finish."

Both Hanna and Beth fell silent and awaited Hazel's explanation.


	11. Author's Note on a Serious Issue

**_Marc Ello: Hello everyone. On the behalf of DarkSage and I, we would like to apologize for not posting the next chapter of LNoW. But we would like to talk about something serious to all of you. As of December 15th 2016, a user has stolen and used a few of our characters in our series without me or Sage s permission; characters and personalities such as Espantos, Irwin, Hazel, Charon, Talin, and the general personalities of how we portray Aladar and Nigel. Now before you guys get up in arms, remain calm. If you know this writer, please don't give him flames._**

 ** _Darksage95: In addition, this same writer also wrote another story regarding some of the characters we used. The story was published on May 27, 2018. Unless given permission to use our characters, we do not accept this sort of action. Already, we have contacted the admins of this website about the situation._**

 ** _We just want to say, and we speak for all fanfiction writers, this genre is meant to promote entertainment in our own way. Writing stories about our favorite characters in our favorite shows, movies, books, or anything else is our own little way of showing that we appreciate their creators' works. Just blatantly stealing their characters without mentioning they belong to their rightful owners or not getting anyone else's permission is just another form of stealing. Or, another way to put it, it's like kidnapping somebody else's child._**

 ** _So please, don't steal ours or anyone else's ideas. It's like stealing away a part of someone else. Marc Ello and I have worked so hard to write these stories not just for our enjoyment, but for everyone else's. If you want to use our characters in your own adventures, please consult us first before taking any action. Doing this sort of crime is wrong, and this goes for anything questionable in life really._**

 ** _Marc Ello: We apologize for the inconvenience. We wanted to inform you of this issue and to let you know of our concerns. This situation is already being handled as we speak (we already sent emails and reports to the admins)._**

 ** _Darksage95: Anyway, the next chapter of LNoW will be put up in the near future. Until then, please be respectful towards everyone else._**

 ** _Both: Thank you. And thank you to the readers who informed us of this issue._**


	12. Duty and Destiny

_**Darksage: Hey guys. Darksage and Marc here with another chapter to LNoW. Apologies for the long wait.**_

 _ **Marc: How'd you like that last chapter? The Verans got their lovely introduction to Prehistoric Park. It's only going to get better ;)**_

 _ **Darksage: Nothing much to say, except we don't own Disney's Dinosaur, Prehistoric Park, Walking with Dinosaurs (both 2013 and BBC), Dinosaur Revolution, March of the Dinosaurs, and any other media listed. We also don't own the music. All of these belong to the respective owners.**_

 ** _Marc: Now that that's done...enjoy!_**

 _ **Soundtrack: Dino Heaven by Paul Leonard-Morgan**_

Hazel let out a shaky sigh. It had taken her forever to explain the main parts of her life story in Prehistoric Park to her mother and sister. The woman left out any excess details, like Kron's in-depth story, Aladar's life on an island with lemurs, how the original Residents were rescued before her arrival (but quickly mentioned the Rex twins, Ornith's group, and Theo) and others that did not seem too important. She did leave out her father's involvement with Prehistoric Park's creation; mentioning him may bring up some more unnecessary tension. Besides, she would rather not be in the room if they found out that he was the reason Hazel became involved in all of this. That did not mean she had to bar how the park was created though, especially Nigel's dealings with the S.A.G.E.S.

She did mention how she was able to speak to Prehistoric creatures, from when she received her first communicator on her first solo mission, to when she was able to operate without it. They have already seen her talking to Espantos in the infirmary so there was really no point in trying to keep her ability a secret. And there was also no point in trying to hide that she was the reason why everyone in the park has bypassed the language barrier via those communicators.

Hazel felt like grimacing when she saw her mother's reaction when she was told her daughter was sent to the hospital after the Valley Herd's rescue. Her mother gaping and her eye twitching were telltale signs that she was furious. If not at Hazel for not informing her of all of this, then it was most likely towards Nero for hurting her.

Hazel, however, had told her mother and sister to not make any comments or interrupt until she was done retelling all of the events. That was one thing she was grateful for.

By the time she was done, her sister was the first to speak up. All of it came in the form of confirmation questions.

"So let me get this straight," started the youngest Veran. "This place, Prehistoric Park, is a park meant to house dinosaurs, giant mammals, bugs, and anything living in the distant past?"

Her sister nodded. "Yup."

"And you have the means to travel through time? Nigel and someone else made something so you could talk to the animals? You went on various adventures bringing animals back from prehistory?"

"Correct," Hazel said, praying that they would quickly move on from that topic so that she would not have to mention their father.

"Nobody else on the outside knows about this place? Not even the organization that funds it?"

"Nope."

Hanna hesitated for a bit before mentioning her next question. Hazel could feel the shock and confusion from her voice. "And you gained the ability to talk to these...animals due to one of them knocking you into a lake and the communicator in your ear short-circuited?"

Hazel replied uneasily. "And put me in the hospital for a few days, yes."

"Before we get back to the main topic, why didn't anybody tell me about that!?" Beth demanded, making the older Veran sibling cringe. So much for trying to be smooth on that. "Why didn't Nigel tell me you were hospitalized?"

"Because they didn't know where you were and even if they did, you wouldn't have been able to come over due to your busy job, much less believe what happened," she defended.

Her mother scoffed. "Well of course I would! I would come over in a flash if it has to deal with my children! In fact, where is that monster that hurt you? I will shoot him with one of your guns and kill him for what he did!"

And there she goes with the death threats. Hazel slammed her hands on the table, her voice revealing a hint of restrained anger. "No! Nero's not like that anymore. Well, he's not exactly a stellar Resident but he's gotten better. He's realized his mistakes and worked to make up for it. Besides, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to communicate with the rest of the Residents in an equal level."

Hazel was actually unsure of her words. True, Nero did some bad things in the past, such as trying to usurp Aladar's role as herd leader, nearly killing her that one time when she told the herd what was to happen to their home, and causing the second Resident breakout in this park's history by making a stupid deal with Diablo, but he certainly made up for his mistakes. He was the Park's assistant in the heavy-duty jobs. Doing some community service helped him to mellow out, and learn some manners. Sure he was no model citizen, but he was getting there.

Her mother did not answer to her daughter's defense of her "frenemy". The woman looked away, but her anger and distress were still clear to see.

"You stay in a valley filled with man-eating monsters. You went back in time and constantly put yourself in danger for a cause that wouldn't make much headway for your future. You talk to these...animals as if they were humans. And you kept this from us. What was Nigel thinking, putting you up to this?"

"Mom, he chose me to lead this place. He saw that I have the potential and the capabilities to be a leader."

"But why you?" she was nearly brought to tears. Her eyes started to become red and her lips quivered. "Why not somebody else?"

Hazel kept a strong face on. Breaking down in front of her family would surely not bode well in this situation. She had to stay strong, for her family in the park. "I'm not entirely sure why, but I guess the best answer would be that I have the makings of someone who can take his place. Prehistoric Park started off as an idea. Nigel's dream to build this place was also shared by…a close associate of his."

"Who?"

The woman wanted to smack herself. She gave away too much there. Trying to conceal it any longer would only delay the inevitable. If they were not going to find out today, then they would keep pestering her until the end of time. There was no point in hiding it, knowing her mother and sister. As seen today, they were not one to accept half-assed answers.

Hazel took a deep breath and revealed the worst thing they could hear today. "Dad."

Hanna's eyes bulged. "Daddy? You mean, he knew!?"

She nodded stoically. Her father was the co-founder of Prehistoric Park. Not long after living here, she found out that her father had worked hard to bring this place to life. The researching and traveling he did was all for Prehistoric Park. He and Nigel were the ones that invented time travel. He was one of the first to campaign the idea of rescuing creatures from extinction.

The idea was a lot to take in, but it was something that Hazel firmly agreed with. This place was one of the only things that kept her father's memory alive. And living out his dream would uphold his legacy too.

"Yeah. The trips he took for 'research' and all that? It was for this place. He and Nigel invented a way to travel back in time so they could bring back rescues. It was so that they could live here in peace, and maybe one day, flourish again. I didn't find out about it until some time ago when I arrived here."

Her mother laughed in the most unusual and flabbergasted manner. "Oh! Of course! I should have known!" she screamed in frustration. "Why didn't I see it!? Your father was the one who started this whole thing! He went off, abandoning his family, just so he could put himself in danger for something so insignificant! And he's dead probably because one of these beasts killed him!"

The young woman retorted in defense. "That's not true! Dad got lost at sea! You know that! Plus, Prehistoric Park was built right AFTER he died! So none of the Residents here are at fault!"

Her heart was pained a little when she saw her mother cover her face with her hands. A sob escaped her throat as she grieved for the deceit her husband gave her. "Your father died...all for something like this. Something he did not tell his family. Why? Why work for something that will kill him?"

"Because he dreamt of bringing back Earth's fantastic creatures so that they could walk the planet again," Hazel simply said, hiding the sorrow that was building up. "He wanted to see them alive again, and so that they wouldn't be lost forever. I know you're against this, and you've got a lot on your mind, but this park is a result of Nigel's and Dad's dream. Nigel chose me to lead it one day; and for that, I'm honored. I'm honored because now I have a way to keep Dad's memory alive. I've gone back in time, experienced things no other human has seen, interacted with creatures long extinct, and brought them back so they could have a second chance. I've learned so many things in my adventures, experienced both joyous and hard times along the way. I've made the greatest friends I could ever ask for; friends who understand me, for who I am, friends who have been with me, thick and thin. I couldn't ask for anything more than that."

She straightened herself, dignified and resolute in her belief. She truly looked like a natural born leader of any given time period, be it queen or general. "And now, I have the chance to prove to Nigel that he did not choose wrong. You know that story regarding Nigel and me about going around the world for several months? That was a cover-up story for me going to a hidden facility in the Late Cretaceous so that I can run the temporary facility we have there. I'm the future leader of the park. This is my duty. I want to prove to Nigel that I can uphold their dream."

"Oh you will do no such thing!" said her mother with a quiver in her tone. "I am not going to let my child go and put herself in danger again! You are going to stay put where I can see you. Actually, better idea. You are going to resign your position!"

Hazel gawked. "What!? No! I won't!"

"You constantly putting yourself in danger is like playing knives against my heart! I lost my husband, your father, because of this place. I will not lose another loved one again!"

The young leader of the new Temporary Park clenched her teeth. Her fists balled up to the point that they were almost white. How dare she tell her that! Her own mother, telling her to back out on the only thing that was keeping her love for the world and her father's memory alive! Had it not been for anyone here in this place, she would have been lost emotionally. Her friends were there to bring her life back on track. It was them who led her to become the leader she was born to be.

And here was her mother, batting an eye on the one thing that her own daughter could succeed in. This park was her life, her home. And she was going to do everything to defend it.

"You can't tell me what to do! I forge my own life now! You can tell me time and again that I need to quit, but I will never do that. I want to become leader not only because this is some cool job. No, I want to become leader because I want to uphold my father's memory. His love for prehistory is in my blood! And my friends here? They're practically my family! I will never, in a million years, abandon them. After I graduated high school, everyone in the park took me in when you were out. They filled the hole that was in my heart when our family was breaking apart. So tell me to quit. You can say whatever you want about everything in this place. Just know that I will not leave them nor will I give up on them. I'm staying, whether you like it or not."

Then, as if it were surprising to her mother, her youngest turned to her with a look most puzzling. The next thing she said impressed the future park leader.

"Mom, maybe she has a point. She is talking about her future and she sounds like she has everything under control. Maybe we shouldn't question her judgment."

Hazel could not help but smile. Even though the situation she was in was jarring, at least she could take solace knowing that there was someone who was taking her side. She and Hanna never truly fought, well except when they were children but those were little squabbles over tiny things like not sharing toys or bothering each other at inappropriate times. Other than those instances, the siblings got along with each other, even into their teens. Hazel had high hopes that her sister would be able to see the Residents as potential friends rather than dangerous monsters.

Her mother, on the other hand, was unhappy with the change in view of her youngest. All Hazel could see was her face turn a deeper shade of red. One of her eyes was twitching. Her mother was going to be difficult to convince, but right now was not the time for that.

Hazel dug into her pockets and retrieved two over-the-ear earpieces. Their newly furnished grey and faint blue markings on the exterior made it look almost alien. Marcus had really outdone himself with the newest versions to make them look "fancy". It still retained the volume nodule and power button from the originals.

The young woman looked at the communicators for a moment. She had gotten them from an employee who had a couple of extras in his pocket before they left the vicinity of the infirmary earlier. It was fortunate he had them on him once she asked for them. This saved her a trip to Marcus' workshop to get the extras from his stash.

Hazel placed the earpieces on the table for the curious sister and mother.

"Here, these are for you," said the future leader.

"What are these?" Hanna asked.

"It's what will allow you both to communicate with the Residents," she simply replied. "Now you'll be able to bypass the language barrier and see just how sentient they are."

The archer reached over the table, eager to touch the alien pieces of technology. "Whoa…cool…" she replied mesmerized.

Her hand recoiled when the Veran widow smacked it away. The young sister massaged her now stinging limb.

"Don't touch that! We're not here to sightsee!" her angry attention fell back on her eldest. "I don't care if you are the President of the United States or the Prime Minister of Great Britain. You are my daughter and I will not let you go for something as trivial as this!"

She stood up from her seat, straightening the nice blouse that was dirtied by the misadventure of the day. "Now, you've had your fun," the protective parent restrained her frustration in an overly emphasized calm manner. "Our flight back to Sarasota will start in two days. Pack your things and say goodbye to your so-called 'friends'."

"No!" Hazel retorted.

"Don't you dare backtalk me!"

"I've already told you Mom! You don't govern my life! I DO! This is my choice, not yours! You don't have a right to tell me what to do! I make my own life choices, not you!"

"How dare you! I am your mother! What I say is right!"

"Well that's what you think!"

Hanna, frightened by how severe the argument was getting, pleaded with her mother in desperation. "Mom, please! Let's not fight about this! Yelling will only make the situation worse!"

Hazel heeded her sister's words. This fight was getting out of hand. The longer they were at this, the more strained the familial relationship was going to be. She wanted her mother to stop with her judgmental views of the park and of her future. She wanted her to understand that she truly belonged here.

But before she could even try to stop this, she felt a rumble in her right pocket. She quickly took out her phone, as if to check the time. On the screen was a single text box with Nigel's name on it. The message was bolded, showing its urgency.

Everything has been transferred. About to close the portal. Hurry.

The woman sighed. She did not make much headway in this discussion, but at least she somewhat changed her sister's view. Hazel wanted to stay and try to change their minds, but her destiny was calling her.

"Mom, I don't care what you think of this place," she told her fuming mother. She was breathing heavily, trying to keep the angry tears from falling. "I don't care what you think of my life. If you are dead-set on thinking that everyone here is crazy, then fine. You can say what you like, but I make my own story. You aren't the author. I am."

She sighed and looked at them both with sad eyes. "I am sorry for making you worry. I'm sorry that you had to come here and see the Residents in the most inconvenient way. I know you are mad at me. I understand that. You have every right to be. But my future is here."

Hazel felt something cool touch her arm. Her skin tingled slightly at the cool air that wafted in. She glanced to her right, and saw the door to the outside left ajar.

Sometimes employees would leave the doors of the café to allow some fresh air to come in. It was hot today, but considering the hour, it would seem that the temperature was beginning to drop. The door was left ajar for a reason, however. Hazel purposely did that.

She then eyed the travel bag that she had placed right next to the wooden pane. It sat there, as if it were waiting for it to be returned to its master.

Hazel looked back at her family. They were desperate, confused, and angry. She did not like seeing them like this. But this was no longer her fight. It pained her to do this, but she had no choice now.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a job to do."

She made a rush for the door. Hanna and her mother had little time to process what was happening. Hazel fled the table for the door, grabbing her travel bag by the strap like a gun trigger.

"Hazel!" Beth screamed for her daughter. "Come back you ungrateful child! We're not finished here!"

If the budding leader heard her, she did not give any indication. She ran for the direction of the Holding Pens as fast as she could. During her escape, she managed to tell a random employee to have her mother and sister's belongings returned to their hotel in Johannesburg. Nigel would give him more information on that.

As she fled from the confused employee, she reflected on the recent moments that occurred. She had just endured a long-standing fight against her mother, defending her place in Prehistoric Park as well as her friends being demonized. Hazel cried at the fact that things with her family were even more strained, possibly to the point of no recovery. But at the same time, for some reason, she was happy. She was happy that she finally got to tell them her beliefs and defend her home. Her mother tried to take her away, but she stood her ground. Hazel survived run-ins with carnivores and other dangers of the past. Surviving a heated family argument was another matter. There was no way she was going to give up on her friends. They, along with her father's memory, were the reasons why she would not leave.

"HAZEL!"

She quickly looked back. Her eyes bugged when she saw who had called to her.

Rather than leaving her mother and sister in the café, they had decided to chase her down. Her stall with speaking with that other employee had allowed them to catch up.

Hazel took one quick look at them. If her mother was mad before, she was enraged now. Her brows were scrunched, her teeth were clenched, and her fists were balled. Running from the café to the Holding Pens would take several minutes. Seeing her not falter after this time was just astonishing.

Then there was her sister. She was trailing alongside their enraged parent. Besides carrying her own travel bag on her back, Hazel saw the noticeable shape of the metal quiver with a handful of arrows. Clutched in her right hand was the bow that she got for Christmas. Her long hair, tied back into a braid, was waving with each few steps she took.

Hazel shook her head and groaned. They just won't give up. So much for escaping Scott-free. If she could just make it to the portal, then maybe she could leave them behind. Hopefully after three months her time, they would be calmer and easier to reason with. If not, they would just have to deal with her decision. And she knew that Nigel and the others would support her no matter what. She belonged here and they knew it.

Finally, the familiar structures of the Holding Pens came into view. No employees were rushing about. Mostly because they were busy with prepping for the construction that would follow soon after her departure. Being the Holding Pens, it would usually have some kind of activity. Seeing it barren was a bit odd to her.

But it was not all empty. Standing in front of the already prepped giant main Time Poles were the senior members of the park. Nigel, Bob, Marcus, and Suzanne all stood around one of the contraptions. Kneeling in front of it was one of the engineers working at the innards of the Time Pole.

Hazel called out to them, grabbing their attention. She skidded to a stop. Her sides and legs hurt like hell from all that running. Her lungs ached as if something was pressing against them.

"So how'd it go?" Nigel asked first, stepping out from the huddled group.

"Great! I just made my escape though. Mom isn't too happy about it," she replied in one quick breath.

"HAZEL! GET BACK HERE NOW!"

The park's department heads and the trainee all looked back. All of them, minus Hazel, were flabbergasted to see Beth and Hanna coming towards them fast. Marcus whistled before grimacing. Suzanne merely stood there in stunned silence. Bob and Nigel, while shocked, were quick to break from their stupor.

"Oh, I can see why," the head keeper commented.

"I gotta go!" Hazel exclaimed, fidgeting on the spot, eager to get going. She was going to miss her employee family here. She was not going to see them for three months her time. To them, they would not see her for at least two years. Had it not been for her mother and sister chasing her down, this would have been much more emotional and appropriate.

Then again, this was her idea. It was a haphazard one, but it was the only way for her to get to Temporary Park quickly. The plan was simple. She would explain everything to her family while giving enough time for Nigel and the others to finish up with the big move. Then, once everything was done, she would hurry over so that she would be the last thing to go through the portal. Those on this side would close it off, preventing her family from coming after her. Nigel and the others would do their best with dealing with her mother and sister, something that they would have to take upon themselves since Hazel has a duty to perform.

Nigel nodded before embracing her in a tight hug, the young woman returned the gesture. "Okay. Goodbye Hazel. Remember everything I taught you."

"I know," she gave him a reassuring look.

Hazel then moved onto Suzanne and Bob, giving them the same tight embrace her mentor gave her. The head keeper patted her on the back while the veterinarian buried her face on her shoulder, shedding a tear and a quiet sob.

"We'll miss you," her teary eyes met the young woman's resolute ones.

"I'll miss you all."

The last person she went to was Marcus. He did not start the hug, but was surprised when she pulled him in. The head engineer was hesitant with the immediate action, but returned the gesture out of respect.

"Don't forget what we talked about," he pulled from her. "You know, last week. Make a video log for each and every day. Oh and if you can, try to record everything that happens there."

"Yeah, I know," she replied.

Nigel cleared his throat, bringing the girl's attention back to the current situation. "Alright, now get going!" he gestured to the now opened time portal. "We'll close it as soon as you go through!"

Hazel looked over at the portal. The familiar translucent, waving wormhole shimmered in front of her. No matter how many times she saw this phenomenon, she was always amazed by it.

Remembering the situation she was in, she gave the senior members a final wave goodbye before sprinting towards the wormhole. The familiar tingling of the time radiation wrapped around her like an invisible blanket. The African mountain landscape she knew for so long was soon replaced by a whole new land entirely. Her destiny awaited on the other side.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nigel watched as his protégé's form disappeared through the rippling time gate in an instant. The portal rippled like that of a disturbed pond with the multitudes of diminishing waves. He was pretty good with hiding his emotions. Had he been less discreet, he would have shown her how much he would miss her. He trained her for this day. From learning the basics of paleontology, animal behaviors, surviving in the field, to social interactions with creatures great and small, he trained her vigorously.

Nigel never had children. He was not married. All he had were his family overseas and this park. Hazel was the closest thing he had to a daughter. Seeing her go was like feeling a part of his heart sting. She was going to lead a whole sanctuary without his guidance. Sometimes, he felt conflicted with himself on whether this was a good idea or not. She was going to be in prehistoric Alaska, in a sanctuary that was surrounded by a dangerous wilderness.

But she was not alone. She had the employee volunteers, the new teammates that were handpicked to work with her, and of course, her friends. Yet, he was still not there. He never saw her graduate, but this moment was just as close as one.

Even though she may be there without his help, deep down, he knew that she would do fine. He had to have faith, otherwise it would tear him apart. As he watched her form disappear, his lingering sorrow was soon replaced with disbelief when he heard the girl's mother behind him.

"Hazel! Come back! I forbid you to go through there!" screamed the angry mother.

Nigel quickly turned and blocked her way. He was soon joined by Bob and Marcus, forming a barrier to block her and the younger Veran girl.

"Beth! Wait! Stop!" he yelled at her.

Unfortunately, the three men could do nothing as the woman barged right passed them. Just how strong was she? They could do nothing to stop her as she approached the portal. Following close behind her was Hanna, who was yelling at her mother to slow down so she could catch her breath.

"Someone! Stop them!" Nigel ordered the people around him.

Neither of them could do anything as the two women disappeared into the portal.

"Shit!" cursed Suzanne, who arrived at the side of the portal too late. "Keep the portal open!" she looked at the blonde-haired engineer working at one of the time poles.

Nigel then looked to Marcus, who was the only other person who was supervising the technician. He looked at the kneeling man and gave out his orders.

"John!" he cried out to the employee who was rigorously working at the internal wires and components.

"I can't!" his expression showed helplessness. "It's too late! I've already set it to close and unsync!"

The whirring of the portal fell silent as the wormhole shrunk in size. The rippling that the two Verans caused when they went through faded away. Soon, all that was left was a single light speck floating above the ground before it too diminished into nothing. What was once a portal into another time showed the rest of the landscape of the valley beyond.

The portal was now closed, and those on the other side were now trapped in another time for an extended period.

The technician who was working on the Time Poles was instructed to work the main time poles to desynchronize from the ones in Temporary Park. Getting the portal back up was now impossible. The Time Poles were set to de-synchronize once it closed due to his instructions. They were put on a timer to sync back up in two years' time. Any attempt to open the portal without the mobile Time-Pole anchored to the Primary would be guess work, either undershooting or overshooting the exact temporal date that Hazel and the others were in.

That was not all either. The exact time and place of Temporary Park was actually placed by Marcus' brother, Ellis. Marcus was busy with making sure all of the needed equipment were in good shape before being transported out, hence why he could not work on the Time Poles himself. John, the technician, was merely in charge of operating the portal for the last minute inclusions, Hazel included.

Trying to get the stowaways back to the present would be near to impossible. Even if they did get the portal up and running, the time period they would open up to would be any point in prehistory. They would be finding two needles in a haystack.

"Oh boy...this is a problem," Bob finally spoke up after stammering in shock. "Those two are stuck there."

He looked to Marcus and John for a glimmer of hope. The technician merely looked away, ashamed for allowing such a problem to happen. "Is there any way to open it back up?"

The head engineer shook his head in disdain. "Not without randomly opening the Time Poles to a different time period."

"So what do we do?"

"There is no more that can be done," Suzanne remarked, defeated. "They're stuck over there in perhaps the safest place in that time period. Even though they are in a different era, they are safe. The only thing we can do now is to move on and hope that things on their side goes well."

Marcus frowned at that. "I guess I can try to send a message to Hazel and ask her on their status, but who knows when she'll get it. The time stream is unsynchronized now, so she'll get that message who knows when. It could take days, weeks, maybe the whole three months over there before she gets it."

Everyone looked to Nigel for support. His expression remained indifferent, focused on where the portal once was.

"What do you think?" asked the head veterinarian.

He turned to them. To everyone's surprise, he gave them a reassuring smile.

"They'll be fine. I taught Hazel everything she needs to know. She's in charge of a whole park with 300 plus Residents and over a hundred volunteers. I'm sure she can handle two more stowaways."

His colleagues uneasily shifted. They eyed each other with uncertainty. A 21 year old was leading a whole sanctuary with over 300 Residents in a time filled with prehistoric dangers. That was already worrisome for them. The girl's mother and sister coming along for the ride would most likely cause problems.

Yet, Nigel's gut usually comes out all right in the end. Perhaps he does have a point. Hazel faced numerous dangers in the past. Two more stowaways should not be too much of a problem, right?

"I hope you're right…" sighed Suzanne.

Everyone started at the Time Poles. Opening them now would not help in the situation. The only thing they could do now was wait it out. All of them hoped for the best.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Temporary Park…

The heat of the African sun felt different when the two Veran women stepped out of the strange glowing light. In hindsight, barreling headlong into an unknown glowing hole in the fabric of reality would give most people pause. However, when Beth Silva nee-Veran was furious and wanted something done, it gets done, obstacles be damned. This was a trait that Hazel inherited from her mother. And poor little Hanna appeared to be along for the ride. Unfortunately for them, Hazel was nowhere to be seen. She was immediately ushered away to supervise the settling into the park.

The two women came stumbling out of the temporal rift into a bright and refreshing new setting. The near unbearable heat gave way to a certain briskness as a light breeze blew passed their forms. From the Park's relatively open savannah-like grasslands, trees in a glade now surrounded Beth and Hanna; pine and cedar trees oddly enough.

While the feeling of the area was different, the sights that Beth and Hanna took in were astounding. Everywhere the family pair looked, there were dinosaurs! Some were readily recognizable such as _Parasaurolophus_ , _Styracosaurus_ , and an enormous _Brachiosaurus_. Other prehistoric creatures they couldn't identify in confidence. Hazel was the one who usually knew more about the prehistoric world than both the mother and sister put together. But whatever they were, they were massive.

And terrifying.

Hanna was the first to snap out of her stupor. "Whoa...this...this is..."

Beth hugged herself, as her body was suddenly met with the cool air had, making her shiver a bit. Hanna felt the same thing as a shudder ripped through her form. The young teenager clutched her bow to calm her nerves and partially as habit. The mother and daughter were busy gawking at the many prehistoric creatures being led to various locations around the area.

"Where...are we?" Beth questioned as the duo managed to side step a wandering _Styracosaurus_.

"Didn't Ate Hazel talk about some kind of temporary facility before? I think this is it." Hanna started as she looked at the facility in wonder. "This place definitely looks like something out of Jurassic Park."

Hanna and Beth saw that while the dinosaurs were being led to some enclosures, some of the creatures were lending a helping hand to the keepers. There were a few _Parasaurolophus_ towing carts of supplies like draft horses. A _Styracosaurus_ was assisting some employees in moving some heavy logs, for what reason the family pair had no idea. All while this was happening, a sea blue dinosaur looked as if he was supervising the many animals. They were so engrossed with their surroundings that they accidently bumped into a large warm body. The Verans recoiled when the wall of flesh they bumped into was one of the monsters! If they were calmer, they would have seen it was an innocent _Parasaurolophus_.

This particular individual was Lethe. She was walking the grounds of the new park and familiarizing herself with her new surroundings. The hadrosaur was so engrossed in her venture that she nearly missed the feeling of two bodies bumping into her. She was surprised to see two women that were similar looking to her friend Hazel. So naturally, Lethe came forth to apologize for getting in the two women's way. Unfortunately, all Hanna and Beth heard and saw was a large dinosaur, honking extremely loudly to rattle their bones, and looming over them as it approached them. Both mother and daughter were cowering away from the overly curious dinosaur. As the Parasaurolophus continued to bray at them, Beth stumbled and fell on the ground.

Surprised at the unknown human's clumsiness, Lethe brayed in concern and tried to physically help Beth up. Since Lethe's species didn't evolve thumbs for dexterous tasks, the hadrosaur had to rely on more primitive ways to help.

Beth was shouting in terror now as the Parasaurolophus "aggressively" shoved her and tried to eat her, but in this case, nudged up and used her mouth to grip Beth's shirt. Hanna, acting on instinct, panicked and used her bow like a club and hit Lethe on her crest. Striking the hollow nose crest made a short reverberation and caused the hadrosaur to flinch back and shake her head in discomfort.

To Lethe, it was like someone swatted her nose, only that the pain lasted a few moments longer thanks to her hollow crest acting like a tuning fork. After the vibrations stopped, Lethe saw that the two women were cowardly running away. Insulted, the sophisticated female upturned her nose and stomped off.

"How dare they!" the mother Parasaurolophus snootily huffed. "Someone is getting a strongly worded complaint for this."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Both Beth and Hanna were overloaded with the sheer diversity of animals that shouldn't be here with them. As they were running, the women were stopped by the hoots and hollering of even more animals. Out of nowhere, three monkeys were leaping off to who knows where. The lead monkey was a distinct disheveled yellow furred individual. The other two was a pure while furred monkey and a slightly smaller white and brown monkey. They leaped past the two women swiftly, with the yellow monkey and the white and brown monkey using Beth and Hanna's shoulders as springboards. This caused them to yelp, as they were not expecting the small mammals to actually touch them.

Hanna managed to pull Beth back when she saw the lemurs coming, screaming and whooping.

"What the heck is this place!? And what was that there?" Beth shouted as she watched the monkeys whooping and screaming as they leaped off.

Before they could gather their wits and keep running, the gigantic yellow and black killer bird sprinted up to them again, completely dwarfing the petite women.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Espantos POV...

Espantos was only having fun. After finishing fixing up his vacation home, he got an invitation from some of the younger lemurs, mostly Suri, to play tag with him. He, of course, wanting to fix up his home to make it presentable to "Hazelnut and her family", needed the break. So he decided to play with them. The collar on his leg briefly flared its power as he escaped his enclosure. The only evidence that it affected him was the momentarily tensing of the Terror Bird's leg muscles, but other than that he gave no mention of it. As he was playing with the young lemurs (nearly running into a few of the Residents and employees), he found Beth and Hanna standing off the side of the road.

Sprinting up to them, Espantos gasped. "You're here! I was wondering where you were. The Hazelnut didn't tell me you were coming now. Oh! You're just in time! I made some of my homemade beetle salsa and chips!"

He failed to notice that they were shaking and backing away in fear.

"Come along to my summer home!" The Phorusrhacos cheered.

At his shouting, Beth and Hanna screamed in fear. Cocking his head a bit, Espantos moments later screamed as well, but just for fun. This goes on for a minute or so.

After the trio needed a moment to breathe, Espantos spoke up. "I don't know why you're screaming but this sounds like the right thing to do! AAAAHHHHH!"

Having enough of being in the grips of fear, Hanna swiftly nocked an arrow and aimed her bow at Espantos' face. At the suddenness of Hanna's action, the Phorusrhacos recoiled; not out of fear, but in surprise.

"Get back you...you...crazy bird!" Hanna threatened and she pulled back her bow even further. "Come any closer and I'll shoot your eye out!"

Then, something inside Espantos clicked as his eyes narrowed. Never before had a human threatened him like this. Other animals, he has. But a human? That was a first. Usually, he assumed humans to be peaceful and friendly. But this one, this one was different. Espantos was a creature that was not quick to violence. He was a kind soul deep down. Sometimes he was met with hostility, where the other Residents would tell him to buzz off. For example, that Knee-Rows guy that nearly killed him, when really, he thought he wanted to play tag. Espantos did not notice that. But this time was more clear-cut. This was a human who was threatening him, and he did not like that. Espantos was kind deep down, but the Terror Bird knew that even deeper down, no one threatened an apex predator. He contended with many saber-toothed carnivores, both Thylacosmilus and Smilodon, and came up on top. Humans didn't have the right to even think they can compare to his species, especially a barely mature hatchling.

Espantos stalked closer to the girl, his tail feathers and minute wing flared out and his feathered mohawk extending to its absolute height; a clear sign of his agitation. Hanna's arms were shaking and she was backing up slowly, instinctively feeling the tonal shift of power from her to the now very imposing predator. All while this was happening, her mother was cowering behind her.

"You REALLY don't want to do that..." Espantos said in an uncharacteristically menacing voice. His beak snapped a few times as he readies his to beat them to death.

Hanna was visibly shaking at the intimidating warbling of the Terror Bird. Meanwhile, Beth shook her daughter's shoulder impatiently. "What are you waiting for Hanna? SHOOT IT!"

"Stop!"

Before Hanna could loose her arrow, young man grabbed her bow and arrow and pushed her aim down. From that disruption, the immediate tension of the stand off was relieved. Everyone looked over and in comes Ellis and Daisy. They were finished with helping out around Temporary Park when they heard what was going on. Luckily they were in the area to stop the situation before it could get worse.

"What's going on here?" Ellis demanded as he crossed his arms.

"Oh! It's my super-awesome best friend! You're just in time!" Espantos cheered, his literal ruffled feathers falling back onto his body at ease, finally relaxed. "I found these two playing tag with the other Residents and I wanted to make friends with them. Then this lady here wanted to shoot me!" The Terror Bird accused the two Verans with a glare, Beth and Hanna cautiously backing up. "She wanted to give me an acupuncture! I hate that! Oh and they're Hazelnut's mama and sister."

Although surprised at the reveal, Ellis knew that he had to do some damage control to make sure his prehistoric friend didn't commit double homicide. "Espantos, I think they need some time to take a break. Can you back off for a bit? I want to introduce myself too."

"Me too," Daisy quickly said, the Grecian reading the atmosphere swiftly and following the rookie engineer's lead.

Espantos nodded. "Okay!"

The Phorusrhacos backed up and the two employees go up to them. Hanna slung her weapon over her shoulder and approached cautiously, her mother following.

"Sorry about that." The engineer apologized. "Espantos can be really eccentric and would look frightening to most people. But really, he's a nice guy."

"Um...thanks. That's the second time somebody saved us from that huge bird." Hanna mentioned as she rubbed the nape of her neck.

"Me synchoreíte (Pardon me), but we've never seen you two here. Who are you two?" Daisy chimed in as she brush a lock of hair behind her ear in a nervous manner.

"I'm Hanna. Hanna Veran. Hazel's younger sister." The teen introduced. She then points at her mom in the back, who was recovering. "This is my mom, Beth."

Ellis arched an eyebrow. "Huh, well Espantos wasn't kidding when he said you were related to Hazel. The resemblance is uncanny."

Hanna's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Wait, he told you we were related?"

"Yup," the engineer said. He pointed at the communicator in his ear. "This nifty thing translates Prehistoric Speak into plain English. It's crazy, but really helpful. But enough about that, what are you doing here?"

"I thought the park was forbidden to outsiders. Our superiors took many measures to make sure that the sanctuary was safely hidden from the public." Daisy continued, curious as well.

Hanna rubbed her neck again, this time in embarrassment. "Oh, um, we kind of snuck in by hiding in Nigel's trunk. We just wanted to know more about Ate Hazel's secret life and...well you can probably guess what happened next when we encountered some of your animals. It's a long story, but we followed her through a portal of some sort and we ended up here. Now we're trying to look for her."

Beth, now fully recovered from her scare, spoke up. "Have you two seen her?"

"Hm...well I can't say I've seen her. She's probably elsewhere in the park." Ellis confessed.

"Oh well this is just great!" Beth groaned, throwing her hands up in frustration. "She could be anywhere in this hellish place now! What the heck was that girl thinking!? Wanting to stay and work with dangerous creatures. She'll get herself killed! Now she's out here, putting herself at risk of being eaten!"

"Whoa whoa easy!" The engineer held up his hands in a placating manner. He was surprised at the sheer amount of irritation coming from the older woman. "We're kind of lost here. We don't know what's going on. All we know is that you're trying to find Hazel. Unfortunately, we haven't seen her."

Beth sighed and puts her fingers on her temples. "This day just keeps getting better and better..."

Espantos, deciding to be the bigger bird, wanted to make amends and spoke up. "Uh, I don't know if this is a good time, but we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Espantos! Sorry about earlier. Now that I know that you two are kind of friends with my super awesome best friend and his other friend, I want to be friends too. NICE TO MEET YOU!"

The two girls scream as they still had no idea what he was saying. Also, he kind of stormed up to them to get a better look and all. They faint on the spot.

Daisy glared at Espantos. "Espantos! Gamóto (God damn it), now look what you've done!"

Espantos cocked his head, completely ignoring the glare of the vet. "Oh? Is it naptime already? But I haven't shared my salsa and chips with them!"

Daisy pinches the bridge of her nose in annoyance. Ellis merely shakes his head.

"Come on. Let's get them someplace safe." Ellis said as he slung Beth's arm over his shoulders to carry her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Temporary Park Cafe...

The four humans made their way to Temporary Park's eating area. They parted ways with Espantos a while ago. Strangely, it was after a strong brisk breeze blew through the park. The Terror Bird distractedly bid them goodbye as he ran off. Both Ellis and Daisy brushed that oddness off; Espantos was always crazy.

The eating area was a generous description. It was more like a single room building with a family sized kitchen. In total, it was a snug fit for 25 people. It couldn't possibly fit the full roster of over a hundred human volunteers in the confined space. The furniture of the room was also very Spartan in design, containing only fold out chairs and tables.

Hanna, Beth, Ellis, and Daisy were now in said Temporary Park cafe. The two women rouse from their sleep, groaning all the while. And coincidently, Chris was there, who was just taking a break from helping move things around. When he saw the two unknown women, their physical features, and the fact that they were under equipped to live in the northwest setting, Chris put two and two together quickly and merely groaned in irritation. So as Chris fetched himself some coffee, Daisy and Ellis began comforting the two women.

"Oh good, you're waking up. You two took a nasty fall, but I didn't see any life-threatening injuries on your heads." Daisy commented as she handed them two glasses of water.

"Ungh...where are we?" Beth asked as she eagerly guzzled her glass.

Chris returned with a magazine and his coffee, which he took a sip after blowing it cool.

"You're in the park bistro. Rey and White here brought you in after you had that run-in with Espantos." The rookie Keeper informed. Hanna nodded at the aforementioned duo as she took a sip of her water.

"Thanks..." The Veran teen said, albeit groggily.

Ellis gives them both mugs of hot chocolate after he fetched them from the kettle.

"Here, these should help." Ellis said as he gave the sweet drinks to the women. He then unconsciously rubbed his arms. "For the summer season, it's a bit nippy outside."

Hanna smiled as she accepted the drink. "Thank you."

Both of them took a sip of the hot drink, which they savored for the moment.

"Sorry again about earlier." The engineer started. "Espantos is always quick to greet newcomers, but he isn't exactly good at restraining himself."

"Yeah, I think we got that. This has been a really long day for us." Hanna sighed. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. "This morning, we were at the hotel, saying goodbye to my sister before Nigel drove off with her back to her job. We wanted to know what she did for a living, so we snuck into their trunk. Then we found your...sanctuary and met some of the animals. The big red horned one scared us off."

"We should really put a 'Beware of Carnotaur' sign on his fence." Chris chuckled as he flips a page on his magazine without looking at them.

"I'm sorry about him. He really is scary, but everyone around here is doing their best to keep him under control," the rookie vet informed.

"That's okay." Hanna said before continuing her story. "Anyway, after running around scared, we ran into that Espantos again and he kind of chased us up a few mats in this one building. It looked like he wanted to eat us. The other employees were trying to stop him, but he didn't pay any mind."

Ellis laughed. "Classic Espantos. He was probably focused on trying to be friends with you that he didn't really pay any mind to anybody else."

"Then my sister came in and saved us. We had a...talk afterwards, one that did not end well. Then she ran off on us, went through that one portal, and we followed her. The rest is history." The young archer finished.

The engineer whistled. "Wow...seems like you two had quite an adventure."

"Adventure?" Beth scoffed. "More like jarring experience."

" So um, what're your names?" Hanna innocently asked.

"Whoops! I guess my manners flew out the window there. Name's Ellis. Ellis Rey." He said with a short wave.

"Ntéizi Lefkó. But you can call my Daisy White." The blonde Athenian greeted.

Ellis pointed with his thumb at the guy in the chair, reading and completely disinterested in the situation.

"That's Chris." Ellis informed before he stage whispered to them. "Don't mind him. He's kind of a hard-ass to most people."

"I heard that." Chris said with a small amount of edge in his voice.

Ellis freezes and laughs.

"Uh I meant to say he's one of the most tolerating guys around here!" The engineer backtracked, his ears burning in embarrassment.

Chris ignores him as he continued to read his article.

"Oh...okay?" Hanna said before shifting the conversation. "Anyway, we were chasing my sister through that portal and we ended up here. Other than not knowing where she went, we don't exactly know where we are."

"You're in the southern part of Alaska, 70 million years ago to be exact." Chris bluntly informed, once again flipping a page.

Hanna and Beth freak out.

"What!? How did we end up all the way here when we were in Africa several minutes ago!?" Hanna shouted.

Chris rolled his eyes before speaking slowly like he was talking to children. "You guys entered through the Time Poles. The portal led to here. End of story."

"Yup! Welcome to Temporary Park!" Ellis said with a faux cheer.

The archer arched a brow before asking. "Temporary Park?"

Daisy nodded in confirmation. "Oh yes. It's our, how do you Americans say it? Home away from home? At least for a while."

"A while? How long are you guys going to stay here?" Hanna inquisitively asked.

Beth gritted her teeth before interrupting. "Never mind that. Where is Hazel? My daughter is out here with all of these killer beasts. How long has she been staying with them? Why did she keep this a secret from us? I never should have let Nigel take her. I knew that man was a bad influence on her! She's going to get herself killed out here!"

"Calm down! No one is going to get killed out here! Unless the boss lady does something stupid." Ellis said, mentioning the latter part under his breath.

"What was that!?" Beth sharply said, rounding to the young engineer.

"Oh! Sorry! I was saying that you guys are practically safe with us!" Ellis quickly said waving his hands frantically.

Hanna looks at the three employees worriedly while Beth scowls at the lot. Chris sighed as approached with a calm demeanor, despite how furious the woman was.

"If you're looking for Hazel, she's most likely in her room. Room 310. It's in a large three-story building with a red roof in the south side of the park. You can't miss it."

"And you're sure about this?" Beth asked.

"I saw her go there myself." Chris said. In all honesty, he just wanted to get rid of Veran's annoying family so that they could get out of his hair. He supposed being a shrill annoyance runs in Veran's family.

"Good. Thank you. Once we find her, we're going home." Beth said. She took Hanna by the arm and led her out the door, all the while her youngest daughter was squirming in her tight grip.

"Ow! Mom! That hurts! I can walk on my own!" Hanna whined as she was dragged out the door.

As they watch them leave the room, Ellis approached Chris and inquired about one detail he forgot to mention.

"Why did you tell them where she was? You know the boss is probably going to get mad at you." The Engineer lightly chastised.

"This is her problem, not mine. She has to deal with it." Chris dully answered as he finished his coffee.

"Seriously? You just had to make her life harder?"

The rookie keeper shrugged. "Again, not my problem."

"You just did that just so you wouldn't have to deal with her."

Chris scoffed. "Whatever you say."

The older man strode off to get more food, leaving the dumbfounded Ellis behind.

Ellis just shook his head as he sipped on his cocoa. He turned to Daisy before saying. "I can't believe Hazel and that woman are related. I overheard the boss lady's argument with her before we left. She called the Residents monsters, and the rest of the employees idiots that are willing to offer themselves as dinner. She's just going to get her and her other kid hurt."

"SymfonÛ (I agree)." Daisy said with a nod. "She will only put herself in more danger if she encounters anyone here."

"Ugh, not to mention she's stuck here now. We've got to deal with her for the next 3 months!"

"I hope Hazel can resolve this soon..." The Grecian worriedly said as he nervously thumbed her good luck charm necklace.

Ellis and Daisy gazed at each other, wondering about how their time in Temporary Park will go with the two stowaways.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hazel arched her back, fixing a muscle that had gotten stiff throughout the day. Becoming a leader and checking up on the area to make sure things were running smoothly were more of a handle than she thought.

Today had been fairly eventful to her, but it certainly did not beat running from carnivores, escaping a blast wave from a meteorite, or participating in a fight that could have been in any Jurassic Park movie. Her mother and sister secretly following her to Prehistoric Park and discovering her secret in the worst way possible was difficult. Heck, she was nearly forced to forgo her place in her home all because of her mother's overprotectiveness. It was through her determination and faith in her friends that she stood her ground…and had the courage to fight against her mother. As much as that put more of a strain on her relationship with her mother and possibly her sister, her place in Prehistoric Park was far more important. Her friends, both human and Resident, were her family. She would do anything to protect them and to be with them.

Then there was the completed transfer from the 21st century to Temporary Park in Late Cretaceous Alaska, near modern day Valdez. Because Nigel, his other senior colleagues, as well as the rest of the employees that decided to stay behind to expand the park and allow the plants to grow, the Residents that were able to make the move and the humans who volunteered to go had to hurry in haste. Temporary Park had been completed long before Hazel first set foot into Prehistoric Park. The moment when Nigel revealed that there was a temporary facility stationed in Alaska during the Mesozoic period was baffling. The man had recorded the exact date, time, as well as the precise location of when construction was completed. That way, when the facility was needed, they could just go ahead and use that place in its prime condition. Getting the Residents into Temporary Park was busy, but it was made easy thanks to the mobile Time Poles that were placed in their enclosures. Those Time Poles were connected to their temporary enclosures on the other side. The only problem was Aladar and Neera's herd; they needed to be placed in the large expanse just outside of the main hub of Temporary Park. The engineers needed to move the White Noise horns further down the valley to account for the huge size of the herd.

Next, there was the part where she needed to make sure that things were running smoothly after the move. The food supply crates needed to be escorted to the food warehouse. The medical equipment needed to be stored in the airplane-hanger sized infirmary. The emergency winter supplies needed to be taken to the storage facility; even though they were in Alaska in the middle of summer, it did not hurt to be prepared for cold episodes. Nigel and Bob prepared them with winter coats that were best used in the Artic, loads of solar blankets and heaters to keep warm, as well as other safety gear. Those silly men; packing those supplies was just going overboard. Still, it did not hurt to be prepared. Even Nigel made sure that Hazel packed her winter coats and some warm attire, as a safety measure. She practically had to pack at least three suitcases to accommodate his…demands.

Finally, there was the task of preparing her room for the stay. Just because she was staying in a room that looked a bit like a jail cell, minus the bars, and the concrete walls were a dull gray, that did not mean she shouldn't organize it a bit. Her mattress was fitted with a bright blue bedsheet and matching pillow, a purple and grey plaid comforter with a warm furred interior; not that she needed it but it didn't hurt to be prepared. Folded on top of it were two purple and grey winter blankets. The few posters she brought from her room, as well as the maps and charts that Nigel provided her, decorated the walls. The blank bookcases parallel to her closet and wardrobe were eventually filled with the books she brought from her room. Her closet and wardrobe had been organized within 30 minutes. And her bathroom, which was in the connecting room across her bed, had been outfitted to her tastes in under an hour.

Everything was done, and it was only mid-afternoon still. Now all she wanted to do was to plop on her mattress and have a much-needed nap…

SLAM!

"Gah! What the!?" Hazel jumped. Her eyes bugged and a nerve on her forehead popped when she saw who stormed through her doorway.

She thought she escaped her. She thought the portal closed before she could catch up to her. She was wrong. Now her furious mother was there, ready to explode like a volcano. Hazel braced herself for round 2 against her overprotective and borderline insane parent.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" the newly named leader of Temporary Park screamed in frustration.

"Finally...found you," Beth's voice seethed with rage. "You have NO IDEA how long it took for us to get to this place!"

"Oh? Did you wander around the park? How was it? Looks nice, right?" Hazel snarked.

"DON'T PLAY COY WITH ME!" the older woman spat. She stomped up to Hazel, who barely stood her ground when she stopped within a few inches of her. "My decision still stands; you are to resign your position and come home with us where it's safe! Now get your things and let's go!"

The girl narrowed her eyes. Her loyalty to her friends and TRUE family shone on her features. "Mom, I've already told you. As the future leader of the park, it's my duty to carry on Nigel's, and by extent Dad's, work. Plus, I'm a grownup! You can't tell me what to do!"

"Yes I can! You're my daughter!"

"I'm 21 years old! And if I can recall, I don't live under YOUR house anymore!"

Hanna, who had silently stepped into the room yet stayed clear out of reach of the two warring women, tentatively voiced her opinion on the matter. "Both of you, please stop! If we could only just-"

"Doesn't matter! You are mine regardless!" Beth retorted, stopping her younger daughter's attempt at peace and practically ignoring her. "I'm not going to let you risk your life for these...these... dumb animals!"

It was at that moment that something in Hazel snapped. It was like a piece of thread, one that was held taught by two great weights, split in two. Her circle of friends was among the most intelligent beings she had ever encountered. Sure they weren't perfect, everyone has their faults. But they were there for her. They supported her when all seemed lost. They stood by her side through thick and thin. They taught her about so many things in life. They were her family, and nothing, not a proclamation from someone who didn't believe it, could change that. Calling them animals, not to mention dumb animals, was not only an insult to them, but an insult to her.

That was something she would not stand for.

Hazel held her own in fights in the past; Velociraptors, Kron, Nero, Diablo, a pack of Ceratosaurus, and more recently, Red Sand, who was Broken Jaw's mother. For the longest time, her trials were against dinosaurs. She never thought she would be involved in a fight against a human, particularly her own mother. The budding leader thought this fight was left behind. She thought they put their differences aside. Apparently not…

Hazel balled her fists. Her eyes started to water. She blinked them back, not wanting to show any sign of weakness. "Take that back! They're not dumb! And they're not just animals! They're sentient beings who are just like us! They were there for me when you were not! They RAISED me! But apparently, you wouldn't know because you don't even know them! Heck, I doubt you'd even want to give them a chance!"

The weathered Beth Silva gritted her teeth. Her eyes, which held anger, were ever more fueled with rage. "Oh yeah? What about that huge bird thing we encountered before?"

Her eldest daughter flew her arms up and rolled her eyes. Of course she would use him as a scapegoat. His introduction was not the best when it came to her mother and sister. "That was just Espantos! He's always like that! Besides, I gave you those communicators so you could better understand them."

The protective, impulsive mother took a step back. A sigh escaped her throat, followed by her placing her index finger and thumb on the bridge of her nose. "It would seem we're at an impasse." She glared at Hazel, her gaze holding Hazel in place. "We are going back, where we can talk to Nigel about your future."

Hazel narrowed her eyes. While they were no longer in the 21st century, this park was her domain. She was in charge of it. Nobody has any right to order her around, not even someone of her blood. And even if Nigel were involved, there was no way he would agree to her mother's terms. He chose her as his successor. He was not one to back down on his own word.

"I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen," she defended. "Nigel chose me to take over for him when he no longer can lead. The years of trials I went through were all to prepare me for that day when I become leader. He is a man of honor. Nothing he says is a lie. Sure, I've got a long way to go, but he believes in me. He knows I can do it. I intend to live up to his expectations."

"And you haven't met them yet, but my friends in the valley are among the best friends I have ever made. In fact, they're more like my own family than you ever were. We played together, we traveled together, we fought together, and we cried together. They were there when you were not. I may be small compared to most of the Residents, but they help me to be taller than my own enemies. You can try to take me away, but I know that my friends will never let that happen."

Beth gawked, her eyes wide with shock. Hazel kept a straight face, but deep down, she smiled. If any of her friends were here now, they would have been proud to hear her say that. However, she also knew that she may have hurt her mother, possibly to the point where she would no longer be important to her. What she said was the truth, and it was a truth that Beth would need to accept.

Hazel loved her mother. That she could not deny, though her trust in her waned over the years. But a mother does not undermine their child's dream of becoming something more. She supports them. Beth was doing the exact opposite. Her overprotective nature prevented her from seeing the good in the Residents. All she thought of was the Residents being mindless beasts who would gobble up poor helpless humans for dinner. No, they were not that. Scientific perspective aside, none of the employees or the other Residents would allow that to happen.

If only her mother would give them a chance. And Hanna. She could never forget about her. While their argument was strictly between mother and daughter, she was left out of it. Hanna was frightened when she met Espantos. No doubt she was thinking the same as well; monsters that were out to kill. They need to see them in a proper light.

Then, Hazel thought of something. Something she nearly forgot. They were here in Temporary Park. The way back home was closed. This was the perfect opportunity to prove to them that she was destined for this job, and that the Residents were not ones to fear.

Hazel inhaled, gaining a calm composure despite the hot water she was in. "Mom, Hanna, I know you are scared. You want me safe and you care about me. I can see that. I love you both, but my place is in Prehistoric Park, where I belong. If you can't see the truth in that, then I'm sorry. And I'm sorry for the fright that Espantos gave you earlier. He didn't mean to, I swear. I'm also sorry about the harrowing encounters with the other Residents you met. You see the Residents now as mindless monsters whose only thought is to kill. They are not. If you act hostile towards them, then they will act like that. All I ask right now is for you to give them a chance. Open yourselves up to them."

"And why would we do that?" Beth scoffed, a sarcastic smile creased her face.

"Because it's probably the only thing you can do now while you're here or you can help the other employees while doing that. Or not. That's your choice."

Hanna took a step forward, her face riddled with confusion. "What do you mean? What are you getting at?"

"I'm saying that going back home isn't much of an option now. The moment those Time Poles closed after you stepped through the portal, they were immediately unsynchronized with the time flow with the Time Poles in Prehistoric Park. The Time Poles we use are connected to the date, time, and location of the Main Time Poles back at home, regardless of the period of the day in our end. Nigel had Marcus unsynchronize the Time Poles this time for a particular reason. They needed to do that so that they could carry out renovations without interfering with life in the Park for the Residents."

"I don't get it," her younger sister said, puzzled.

"Alright, I guess I'll have to use Layman's terms. The desynchronization of the Time Poles means that time between now and the 21st century will go differently. Time at home will go faster. The portal is closed, and none of us will be able to operate it until our time here is done. Renovations in the park will last for a while, so I suggest you both get yourselves comfortable. In short, you're stuck here for the next 3 months."

"3 MONTHS!?" both Hanna and her mother exclaimed.

"Yup. And on the other side, renovations will continue for 2 years. I hope you brought your essentials because you two will be here for a while."

"But I can't be gone for 2 years!" the athletic dressed girl cried. "I have to get back to school after 3 months!"

Beth, horrified at the new predicament they were in, nearly lost her footing at the idea that they were trapped in an unknown time, surrounded by some of the most dangerous creatures to have ever walked the earth. "I have a job to get back to. It's demanding. I can't be gone for more than a few days. And the house…who's going to pay the bills? Who's going to look after the garden? And the credit cards…who's going to handle those?"

She looked at Hazel, her breath now shaky. "Please tell me this is not true."

Hazel nodded, her answer causing a frightened gasp to escape her mother's throat. "I'm sorry. You're stuck here for the next 3 months/2 years. The only way to get back is to wait for the Time Poles to become operational again."

"Can't you fix them? Allow them to take us back home?"

The young time traveler shook her head. "No. The Time Poles are linked to the main ones back home. Even if we did fix them, you'll only end up in a random time period. The risk is too great. You could end up further in the past, or worse. You don't want to end up in a time period where the earth is still forming or where you'll end up as some carnivore's meal without proper protection. Your best bet to get back home is to wait it out."

Her two family members fell silent. Hanna looked down on the floor, her thoughts lost in how trapped they were. Beth, who was equally stunned, could not even utter a single word. All she could do was silently stare at her eldest daughter for some kind of small ray of hope in this crisis.

"Mom, Hanna, I know you're upset, but this isn't all that bad. We may be here for a couple months, but you're in one of the safest places in the world, at least in this time because we're 70 million years in the past. So long as you remain within Temporary Park and not wander off, you'll be fine. We've got a White Noise system that will keep invading wildlife out. And then there are the wooden walls around the main hub of the park. Trust me, you're okay."

She then took out her phone and checked the time. Her screen read 3:40 PM. It was still daylight out too. They had been in this argument for at least 40 minutes.

Hazel, now feeling fatigued with the stress of dealing with her overprotective mother, decided that a break was needed.

"I've got some work to do. I need to check up on the Residents," she lied. While she was not planning to do that until later, she needed a window of opportunity to temporarily escape them. "You wanted to know what I do in my job; well now's your chance. I need to go out and make sure everyone's adjusting well in this temporary setting. Besides, you can get to know my friends this way."

She rushed up to the door and proceeded to open it when her mother stopped her.

"Hazel, don't you dare step out of this room! We're not finished yet!"

"Sorry, you can't order me around. I'm the boss here. If you need anything, or have any questions, just ask the other employees in the park. If you still have the Communicators I gave you, use them now. Otherwise, go and find Ellis so he can give you new ones from his stores. As for supplies, the storage facility should have some extras. There should also be some extra clothes there you can use. Finally, I'll have someone set up some living quarters for you."

With that said, Hazel turned the knob of her door, pulled it wide open, and rushed out. Both Hanna and Beth were left in the room, speechless and stunned.

What have they gotten themselves into?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Outskirts of Temporary Park…about an hour later

While Hazel was busy with trying to forget her recent bout with her mother, Aladar and his mate, Neera, had been doing their own tasks around Temporary Park. Since their arrival not too long ago, they were busily inspecting each and every corner of their temporary abode. Though he had not been a leader for too long, the alpha male knew that in order for a sanctuary to be deemed appropriate, it would need to have enough food, water, protection from outside forces and predators, and space to run around in. So far, his and Neera's expectations had been met, if only barely.

The food in the new valley was strange. There wasn't much leafy green vegetation in the center, only small sprigs, bushes, and mosses. While the _Iguanodons_ and _Parasaurolophus_ were not big fans of such greenery, they at least had two options to turn to for food. For one thing, it was the forest in the back of the valley. They found several greens that they could eat. To the humans, they would be ginkgoes and confers, which were in abundance. Then there was the food storage in the park. According to what Nigel told them before they left, that place had enough food to last for a few months. The food they ate grew in abundance there too, but they were warned that the humans were the only ones that would serve them the greens, as it was only accessible to them. Herd members wanting to get some food would have to wait there during specific times of the day.

The water was cool, yet refreshing. Dinosaurs like them who have survived in warm climates as well as trekked through unforgiving hot deserts find this to be welcoming. The only thing was that they felt the water was a bit too cold for bathing. That may be a problem when anyone wanted to swim. They would have to scour around for a good place to do that.

Then there was the general landscape. The valley was nestled between a set of mountain ranges. The walls of the valley were protected by those tall, imposing rocks that seemed difficult to climb. However, they did not appear to be as tall as the mountains they were used to seeing back at home. There were little to no hills either. The only other defining feature was a large stream that waved around the area before flowing beyond this part of the valley. It was a flat location.

But still, this was where they would be staying for a few months. Despite the differences between this valley and their home, at least they had protection from outside forces and have enough resources to go around. Not to mention, the herd's urge to migrate seemed to have been satisfied, at least temporarily.

There was one thing that had been bothering them. The temperature. In the Nesting Grounds, and by extension, Prehistoric Park, they were used to warm temperatures all year round, save for the periods of time when they had cooler days. They were tolerable and not much of a bother. Here, however, it was as warm as those cool days. Nigel had told the alphas that they would be taken there during the summer season, the "warm days" as he put it. Yet, for some reason, it felt unbelievably cool. It was puzzling. Was there some kind of mistake that human Ellis made when he opened the portal? Or was it because they were in a new land and were not used to the climate?

Whatever the case, this place was new to them, and they needed to adapt. At least they were happy to know that everyone was doing fine. Their children were off playing in the fields or getting a bite to eat around the area. The lemurs were adjusting to their new abode with Irwin in the newly named "Crocodile House". The rest of the Residents were getting situated in their new enclosures. And then there were those giant "white flimsy mountains" that the humans were constructing around the main hub of the park. From asking one of the human workers, they were able to learn that they were "tents" that could house at least 50 individuals or a couple of sauropods if they huddled together. They would have these "metal fires" that would warm the place up. They were told that since they were in a cooler climate, there may be periods where the air would be a bit too cold for their tastes. The tents would be there so the Residents could warm up.

While Aladar and Neera were pleased that they did not have to worry about the cold, they were concerned about what would happen when it did get cold. The seven tents that were constructed were welcome to all, which included the carnivores. The herd made great strides with getting along with their flesh-eating neighbors, however, there were a couple carnivores that failed to go along with this sort of peace; Diablo and Rascal mostly. The Iguanodons wondered how the humans would deal with them. Perhaps they would have their own personalized tents? They had no idea.

Whatever problems they would encounter, they would need to take them with an air of caution. This was a new land and they were its guests. To upset the balance that happens here would mean dire consequences in the future. But right now, they were just happy to know that their valley would recover during their stay in this new time.

"So Aladar, what do you think of this place?" Neera asked her blue-green mate as they strode along the flat green plains of the park outskirts.

"Um, it's...different?" he chuckled. "Though that's only putting it mildly."

"It sure is."

"The plants found in the forest in the back are different," said Aladar. "And they taste different too. The water is oddly cool. It's refreshing, but probably not the best for swimming."

"Right but other than those kinds of observations?" the female alpha hinted for a more positive approach.

"This place seems safe. What do the humans call these large rocky things around the valley?" he asked as he looked around the border of the valley.

Neera lightly laughed, amused by her mate's ignorance of the humans' extensive vocabulary. "I think Hazel mentioned they were called mountains. Come on Aladar, we live around them back at home."

"Right right, I just forgot," he sheepishly replied. If he had any sweat glands, he would have perspired from that comment. "Anyway, predators will have a tough time with getting over those to get to us. The valley is large enough for us to roam around in. I wouldn't be surprised if we bumped into any locals around here."

"Hopefully they'll take our presence as welcoming. I don't want to end up getting into an argument," the female slender alpha commented, making sure to get her voice up after a couple of Parasaurolophus honked several yards behind them.

Then, as Aladar was about to reply to that, his mate decided to change the topic. This new one surprised him as he never thought something like this would occur.

"Speaking of which, did you hear about our two new stowaways?"

Aladar arched a figurative brow. "Stowaways?"

Neera paused at her mate's ignorance. The male alpha turned at her sudden frozen gait. "Wait, you don't know?"

"Know what? Tell me."

"Hazel's mom and sister are here," she said so casually.

The sea-green Iguanodon gawked, his maw nearly colliding with the matted grass they stood on. "What!? You're serious!"

His mate nodded blatantly. "Yup. They went through the portal right before it closed, or so I heard. Lethe told me they ran into her earlier. Poor things, they were frightened. She tried to apologize for shocking them, but they ran off screaming," she told him after making a cringed frown, the memory of Lethe repeating the event earlier disturbed her.

Aladar sighed, shaking his head at the new problem the park now had. "Oh great. Does Hazel know about this?"

Neera shook her head. "I'm not sure. Maybe. Why do you think they're here?"

"My guess? They're adamant in bringing Hazel back to their homeland, which I don't think she'll agree to easily."

The compassionate ornithopod frowned as he looked back towards his herd, or more specifically, back at where Temporary Park was. From his vantage point, he could see the faint silhouettes of the clustered small buildings and the enclosures where the other Residents lived. The Residents that were not adapted to a cooler environment were put into large indoor "caves", or houses as the humans called them. Such Residents included the _Plateosaurus_ , Espantos, though he seemed to be running amok outside after the _Iguanodon_ noticed a red and yellow blur slip around the corner of a building, the _Ornithomimus_ , Irwin, along with the lemur clan who were rooming with him, the _Microraptors_ and the _Yi QI_ , the bugs, Al and Alyssa, and Broken Jaw and his guardians. Those that did not have a house were the ones that could adapt to such conditions due to their sheer size and/or for other reasons. The park had an army of Residents, and including his herd, it was pretty massive. Each one of them came from a different point in time and had their own characteristics that made them unique…and in the worst situations, dangerous.

Aladar frowned. Hazel's mother and sister were scared for a good reason. They were among creatures they thought extinct, at least in this time. Their accidental arrival and their discovery was like a rock thrown in their faces. The alpha wanted to kick himself for not being there to console them before, but he was busy with resolving minor arguments in his part of the valley back at home. Now all he could feel was guilt for not being there to help.

"Aladar?" Neera called out to him, noticing his change in demeanor.

"Sorry Neera," he glanced at her for a moment. "I'm just worried."

"About Hazel?" said his mate.

He shook his head. "No. Her mother and sister."

"Why?" Neera approached him until she stood by his side. "They have a negative impression on us."

Aladar looked deeply into his mate's beautiful yellow eyes. He could see the confusion welling in her on why he would think that way. He was always one to think of others but thinking of those who think negatively on him was something he rarely does unless the situation called for it. He could not blame her. She was raised in an aspect where those who think poorly of you were considered enemies. But Aladar was raised differently.

"That's the thing. Their first meeting didn't start very well. They didn't have the means to communicate with us. I may be crazy for thinking this, but if I were in their place, where I couldn't understand anyone and encounter something unknown, I would have been scared too. I can't blame them for feeling that way. If they don't open themselves up, they could wind up getting hurt."

"Okay, I see your point," the alpha female nodded in understanding. "But what about how they view us?"

"Well we'll just have to fix that," he smiled confidently.

"We got off on the wrong hoof," the Iguanodon lifted one arm up to show his point. "I think we just need to introduce ourselves properly."

"And if that doesn't work?" Neera questioned an air of caution.

"Then we'll keep trying. They're just like our herd when they were adjusting to life back at home. We'll have to prove to them that they have nothing to fear."

His fuchsia companion and love looked back at the park, wondering about the outcomes. "But I wonder how Hazel is going to handle them."

Aladar stood tall, even more confidence and optimism raining from his posture. "Hazel's a big girl. I'm sure she can handle them. From what we heard, her status with her mom has gotten better."

Neera almost rolled her eyes when she injected the negative point. "Then it got worse when she met Espantos and learned about her daughter's secret."

Her mate, not taking that jab so easily, shook it off. "Well, it's a setback. But she'll pull through. If any problems come up, we'll be there to help her."

"Whatever you say," she replied then started with another point of concern. "What about her sister? Hanna, was it?"

The male Iguanodon shrugged. "I don't know. Hazel never mentioned having a negative relationship with her. She's scared, but she seems like she'll be more open to meeting us."

And he knew it. Of all the times Hazel told him and the others about her family, it was always about how angry she was at her mother and how miserable her life was without her father before she came to the park. The human mentioned her sister sometimes, but only that they rarely talked. Hazel never said anything about them arguing. That led Aladar to think that those two were on good terms, or at least got along well enough.

"That's true. Do you think she'll like us?" Neera inquired, hoping Hanna would not end up like her mother.

"Of course!" Aladar beamed, almost making the female jump in surprise. "I bet we'll get along just fine. Though I hope she knows who to avoid. Hazel better tell her about our more...social intolerant neighbors."

"Let's hope that rubs off on her mother."

Introducing themselves to Hazel's relatives may be a challenge, since they already had a negative disposition on them from the get-go. However, this was similar to what happened to their herd. When they first arrived in the park and they found out that there were predators living with them, everyone felt scared, including the lemurs. Predator and prey lived by one law; to eat or be eaten. Survive by living or else die. To live with the very creatures they learned to avoid was a drastic change in the natural law. It took the efforts of Hazel, the humans in the park, and those that sympathized with them to show that there was nothing to be afraid of. Now the herd members got along with the predators, the fear of being eaten faded into memory.

Yet that did not stop them from having a few doubts. They were friendly now, but what if there was a time when all that would be forgotten? All of them hoped that time would not come.

Hazel's mother and sister were in the same situation. The only reason why they would view them as killer monsters was because of the reputation of the predators. While fearing predators would be acceptable in the appropriate situations, doing so in Prehistoric Park was not so. Now Aladar and Neera, along with everyone else that is willing to help, would have to teach them right from wrong.

When Aladar was about to further press on the topic, the sound of wing flaps brought them back towards the direction beyond the park borders. The land, which was once clear, had suddenly gotten foggy. The air became cooler, their scales pricked by the incoming cold. The wing flaps grew louder, and its source came from above.

The gusts of wind they felt on their scales were a result of a large pterosaur flapping its great wings. They watched, now unfazed by the small beats of wind, as their sky scout landed before them. Her beak was curved into a frown on both sides, and her breathing was deep with gasps.

"Flia, what's the matter?" Aladar asked, sensing her distress.

"We've got a problem. A big one!" she panted, now on all fours.

"What do you mean? Predators?" Neera tensed up as she crouched, fearing that native carnivores were coming to devour members of her herd.

The _Pteranodon_ shook her head, causing the female Iguanodon to relax, only by a little. "No. Far from that," she looked back at the rolling fog in the valley passage that led into their area before returning her attention to them. "I was scouting around the area, checking out the lay of the land, when I found a whole herd coming towards this direction. They're coming here fast!"

"A herd?" Aladar said, puzzled yet with a hint of delight. "Well, it would seem the neighbors here knew about us and want to greet us. We'd be more than happy to get to know them if they'll let us."

He frowned once more when Flia shook her head again.

"No, I don't think so. I took a good look at their leader, and he doesn't seem very happy. I think we may have intruded into his herd's territory."

"What are they? How many?" Neera asked quickly.

"Pachyrhinosaurus, a whole slew of them! Their group is about as big as ours too. Probably bigger."

Just then, a deep moan echoed afar. The trio looked to the rolling fog, only to see nothing. The grounded cloud became dense as moments wore on. Soon, more bellows sounded off. The herd, who were either exploring their new surroundings or trying out the shrubbery that grew abundant on the earth, snapped their heads towards the valley passage. Uneasiness welled up in their guts at whatever was approaching in the fog. Every dinosaur in the vicinity fell silent like a dying wind.

Their uneasiness grew when a horde of shapes began to step out from the fog. At first, they looked like rolling mass of black with horns. Then, as they grew closer, the rolling mass turned out to be their frills, each one having two horns jutting out at the top in a sideways fashion. Flia was right; it is a herd. The line of herbivores approaching spanned from one corner of the passage to the other. It was a large herd, one that rivaled theirs in sheer size.

Aladar did not want to take any chances. While they were not predators, they did not know if they were friend or foe. He turned to his sky scout and immediately gave her his first order.

"Flia, go find Hazel. Tell her what's happening. We'll do our best to smooth out this misunderstanding."

She said nothing more as she opened her wings and jumped away. The giant pterosaur flapped upwards before angling herself towards Temporary Park.

Aladar did not need to look back to make sure she was doing her job. Flia was trustworthy. No, the real problem lay before them. The ceratopsians that approached sported a darker hide than the ones in their herd. The only exceptions were two of the Pachyrhinosaurus that were at the very front several feet from the main group.

The herd's alphas. They had to be if the others were falling behind them.

The one on the left had a pale hide with light brown accents. The horns around the frill were smaller and straight. The stubby horns in the middle above the snout were pointed upwards rather than forwards. Not only that, but this one looked slenderer than the others behind.

If there was anything Aladar knew about _Pachyrhinosaurus_ , it was that straight horns and thinner stature meant they were females. This must be the alpha female.

Which meant that the one next to her is her mate.

This one, unlike the others that had a reddish-brown hide, like Sarge's, looked like a reddish-orange. The horns on his frill were curved, however, the ones at the top were irregular in size. The alpha male was oddly smaller than the others in his herd, being nearly the same size as the female next to him.

Though he was far away, Aladar could tell that this one was not pleased. He always shook his head before lowering for a moment. From watching Sarge do some training against others of his kind in the herd, the Iguanodon knew that motion was to intimidate rivals. The lowering of his head was then followed by a quick thrust upwards, like a stubby claw making an uppercut to its target.

Aladar stood his ground. These were the locals that he wanted to meet. Yet being on good terms with them for being on their land uninvited seems far off.

The alpha male Pachyrhinosaurus let out another loud bellow. It was a roar that echoed all around the valley. The roar, while threatening, was a summons. The alpha male wanted to meet the intruders. And there was no doubt that if things did not go well, there will be a fight.

Aladar gulped. His emerald eyes locked onto the eyes of the angry bull ceratopsian. He did his best to calm himself as the large herd approached.

Mustering up his courage, he walked towards them. His mate followed not far behind. Before long, their entire herd was following them. They too made bellows of their own; nervous grunts, intimidating honks, and sharp roars.

The alpha male said nothing as he walked up to the newcomers. His eyes did not break contact from his potential rival's gaze. Nothing faltered his attention.

Not even the semicircle hole in the upper right part of the frill.

 _ **Darksage: Whoo! Now that was interesting. Now we're all caught up :).**_

 _ **Marc: And Espantos' "hidden" personality? Surprised you there, didn't we? Seems like he's got a violent side should he be provoked. Looks like there's more to him than he lets on.**_

 _ **Darksage: The next chapter will be posted soon. We hope you enjoyed this one. Until then, peace out!**_


	13. Darkness Falls

_**A.N. Alright everyone. Here's the next chapter in the LNoW story. Things are about to get a bit interesting. Not much to say except we don't own Disney's Dinosaur, Prehistoric Park, Dinosaur Revolution, Walking with Dinosaurs, Walking with Dinosaurs 2013, or the music listed. We only own the characters we created. Now, enjoy!**_

 _ **Soundtrack: Uprising by Cyril Nikitin**_

Hazel thought about the jobs she gave out to her teammates on their 3 month stay. Being in a new place and training to be the new heads of the park's specialized departments, they needed to get into the swing of their new time in the park. Daisy was to oversee the overall health of all of the Residents, and at times, any employee, besides supervising the other veterinarians. Ellis was to make sure all of their equipment was working properly, especially the barrier poles of the more dangerous carnivores and the White Noise Cannons to keep the native wildlife out. Like Daisy, he too was in charge of making sure the other engineers were performing everything up to par. Then there was Chris, who was in charge of making sure that all of the keepers were doing their jobs correctly, and making sure that the Residents were all happily fed, hydrated, etc.

Looking over her teammates' performances would have been fine with her, if it weren't for what happened earlier that day. Right now, she was just not in the right mood.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Flashback…a few minutes after leaving her room**_

Hazel was not lying when she said she would check out the Residents right after leaving her mother and sister in her room. Well, technically that was not in her agenda. All she wanted to do was take a walk, but she might as well check up on everyone again just to make sure.

Today was supposed to be a good start to her job as Temporary Park's leader. It was supposed to start off with a bang. The day started off fine; she escaped her mom and sister, leaving them in Prehistoric Park, only to find out that they went through the portal at the last minute. Now she has put up with her overprotective mother for the next three months in Late Cretaceous Alaska. Hazel did not mind her sister though. She was the only family member she had no quarrel with. But now she'll have to make sure that her view on the Residents goes to a more positive route, all while juggling her duties as the new leader.

Regardless, her mother being here was going to make her job all the more uncomfortable.

As she was contemplating on how she could avoid her mother as much as possible in the next three months, she was stopped by a familiar gritty, and unhappy, individual to her right.

"Well well well. Look who decided to come our way again. Here I thought some passerby carno decided to make you their snack."

One quick look and her eyes met predatory ones. Had she been paying any more attention to her surroundings, she would have noticed that she was walking alongside the soon-to-be-named temporary _Dilophosaurus_ paddock. The enclosure was not that big, but it was a heavily forested one, complete with ginkgo, cycads, and palm trees. A medium sized pond was stationed off to the right, which was surrounded by fronds and ferns.

And keeping up with her walking pace was a certain 10 foot long Jurassic predator with a voice as deep as the sea.

"Blaine, right?" she batted an indifferent look at him. "You and your pack enjoying this place?" Hazel made a note on the pack of _Dilophosaurus_ that were sleeping in the back of the enclosure. All of them were huddled close to each other, no doubt trying to keep warm from the cool air. While their condition seemed concerning, she figured that they would be fine as soon as they adapted to the Alaskan climate. They are used to a warmer one.

"Bit cold for our tastes," the pack leader hissed. "Don't really like the chills in the air. Then again, it's probably because we're used to hot environments. But that's not why we're talking. I thought I made it clear to your human buddies that you're not welcome in our presence. Guess they failed on that."

Hazel responded inquisitively. "Why wouldn't I be welcome? What the heck did I do?"

Her answer was met with an intimidating sneer, something that made her jump a little.

"I don't think I need to tell you..." Blaine growled menacingly.

"Are you still angry about me tricking you back then? Seriously? That was like weeks ago," she figured.

"You nearly killed us with that dirty trick!" the _Dilophosaurus_ pack leader revealed his sharp talons at her.

"Okay, I admit that was very crude," Hazel started haphazardly. "But I didn't have much of a choice. I would have tried to reason with you to follow me but food was on your mind. Besides, had I not done what I did back then, you lot would have been fried to a crisp. Did you forget about that?"

"I…you…" he stumbled on his own words before sighing in defeat. "I see your point."

"Yeah. I saved your life. You're welcome," said Hazel quickly and condescendingly. "Anyway, glad to see you guys are doing fine."

Before she could walk away, however, the pack leader called out to her again. What he had told her next made her roll her eyes in frustration.

"Alright, what's eating you?"

"What?"

"Don't hide it. I can tell when someone's ass is getting stabbed," he told her. "Being the leader of a pack for a long time, you tend to learn a lot of things."

Hazel turned away to avoid making eye contact. She was trying to take a walk so she could calm down, all the while trying to avoid this certain subject. Apparently, trying to do so was harder than she thought.

"Nothing is wrong," she lied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a job to do."

Before Blaine could stop her, the human ran from him. She ran as fast as she could, even avoiding making eye contact with any roaming Resident she came across. She gave no answers as to why she was feeling this way, leaving the Residents dumbfounded and confused.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hazel shut her eyes. Her mind was flooded with memories of her argument. Right when her relationship with her mother was rebuilt from the ashes, it was burned again in a single day. Personally, she would rather be in her room and take a nap to calm down, but she decided not to as there was the chance her mother would probably be there. The new leader made a note to have one of the other employees set up a spare room for them later, plus supply them with extra utilities.

After her run-in with Blaine, Hazel eventually ended up in the park's infirmary. Her teammates were doing their various jobs there. The infirmary building was about the same size as the one back at the park, only this time it had an attached large warehouse that served as the emergency room for the much larger Residents. It was not as big as the original large infirmary at the park, but it was big enough to accommodate a few of the Valley Herd members. If a sauropod was injured or sick, then a large tent would have to be erected to accommodate the amount of space outside.

The interior of the room they were in was built similarly to the emergency room back at the park, much like the other rooms on the rest of the first floor, save for the ones that had other purposes like labs. This one, like the other emergency rooms in the first floor, had a garage door that opened up to allow easy access for large patients. At the moment, this one was open a bit to allow some fresh air to come in. There was medical equipment around the room, such as the backlight to study X-ray scans, the IVs, and the like. The second floor served as emergency rooms for employees, there was a nursery room for the hatchlings, a hatchery for the displaced eggs, and additional meeting rooms. Of course, the building had the necessary accommodations for humans too. It was much like a hospital in fact.

Hazel figured that she would oversee how her teammates fared on their jobs after their arrival. She planned on staying there, making sure they were doing things right and serve as reference in case they needed help with something.

Daisy was taking care of one of the _Plateosaurus_ that the infirmary took in. Lewie was his name, a young light blue adolescent male who was cousin to Oddie, the leading male of the _Plateosaurus_ herd. According to another veterinarian's report, Lewie had contracted a mild fever. Hazel had to remind herself that even prehistoric creatures could get sick too. He needed to be separated from the herd to prevent the spread of infection. At the moment, he was resting after receiving some antibiotics.

The report did mention the behavior of the rest of the _Plateosaurus_ ; odd but she attributed it to them being in a new place. They were acting strangely, such as complaints of the cool air and constantly huddling close to each other for warmth. This was Alaska and they were from a much warmer climate. Like the _Dilophosaurus_ , Hazel hoped their agitation would mellow out in time. She did make a note to see if a warming tent could be made for the Residents that are not used to the cold.

Chris was busy with taking inventory on the Resident living supplies. He was checking off each list on military-grade enclosed iPad. Everything may have been transferred to Temporary Park, but Hazel wanted to make sure that everything was accounted for. It did not hurt to do a couple more checks. If anything was missing, they would need to document it and find a way to make do with the missing supplies. The _Protoceratops_ sisters that the young keeper was in charge of with were currently sleeping in the next room, after the amusement of watching him get them to take their afternoon nap. It was funny watching him singing Rock-a-Bye Baby over and over and carrying each one of them like newborns one at a time just to calm them, after getting them to quiet down of course.

Ellis was the only one who was not present. He was supposed to make sure that the computers in each room were running smoothly. However, he was occupied with trying to reel in Espantos after the Terror Bird made a dash to the outskirts of the park. Because Ellis was assigned to the Terror Bird, Hazel instructed him to keep an eye on the avian. It was not unusual for Espantos to be so random, but this was a new place so who knows what sort of mischief, innocent otherwise, he might do. Hazel had to call another engineer to come over and check out the computers.

Now she was playing supervisor to the heads of the departments, and one of them she was not appreciating in the least.

"Make sure that ALL of the items are listed, Chris," she said, leaning against the wall on the right side.

"Everything is fine _Veran_ ," he said through his teeth, taking an annoyed glance at her. "I think if there was something missing, I may have told you about it sooner."

"Yeah? Well I need to be updated on everything."

"Kid, I think we can survive if we're missing a box or two."

Hazel's right eye twitched at that. She could have sworn a nerve on her forehead popped if the aching did not indicate it. She hated being called short, small, or even a kid. Now unless someone says it in an affectionate way, like Marcus or one of her friends, then they were excused. But in a demeaning way? That was like pushing her buttons.

"Do you know who you're talking to here?" she raised her voice at him.

Chris, who seemed unfazed by her reaction, spoke up in a smug manner, much to her annoyance. "Gee, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you out like that."

Her eyes narrowed, staring into his soul. "Really? If you're so sorry, then get back to work. And I expect a full report on the inventories of all of our supplies by the end of the day."

"We've got like 5 hours. I've already gone through most of the lists."

"Just get it done," she gritted her teeth.

"You know, I think we would be able to get things done a lot faster if you weren't looking over our shoulders as if we're kids."

"I am not!" she stood up and stomped her foot on the white tile floor. "I'm just helping."

"Right right," the keeper replied sarcastically. "Telling us what to do like a mad queen is helping."

"Could you two please stop bickering over there? Lewie here is trying to get some rest."

The two arguing employees ceased their arguing and focused their attention on the one who interrupted. Looking at them with a scolding expression was a normally shy Daisy. On her lap was a sleeping Lewie, who did not seem to be bothered by the commotion around him. Neither of them knew Daisy for too long, but apparently, the Grecian woman could speak up to stop an argument when she wanted to. The two of them wondered what else that veterinarian had in store.

Both Hazel and Chris quieted down. The keeper went back to checking over his list. The park leader's expression softened, becoming apologetic and concerned over the Resident in the room. Her manners had gone MIA for a moment as she had forgotten about the sick patient.

"How is our patient?" she asked.

"Well as you already know, he has a mild fever. It's nothing he can't handle," the vet told her. "He's already taken his antibiotics. I'd expect he'd be feeling better in the next couple of days."

"Okay. Good. Keep me posted on him too. In fact, on anyone with a health problem," said Hazel.

"Please and thank you," Chris mentioned blatantly.

Hazel snapped her head at him, an irritated reaction plastered on her features. The young man's face was condescending.

"If you're going to ask someone to do something, I think I remember that it's best to tell them respectfully. I don't think Nigel taught you to order people around."

"Are you mocking me right now?" she glared at him.

"Oh no," erupted his sarcasm. "I just 'made an observation'. I'm pretty good with that."

"You shut it right now or so help me I will dock your salary by half," Hazel replied threateningly, her urge to punch him in the face dominated her thinking. Her rational side, however, was keeping that at bay.

"Go ahead," he taunted. "Do it. I bet you don't even know how to. Did Nigel teach you how to micromanage salaries?"

Hazel went rigid, becoming dumbfounded and ever more irritated. Nigel had not taught her how to manage finances. He told her weeks ago that he would teach her once this whole stay in Alaska was over. Due to the timing of fixing the park, handling the finances would be at their busiest. Plus, there was the fact that she would not be able to handle payments 70 million years in the past. The employees in Temporary Park were going to get paid with the combined earnings over the past 2 years in the present, something that Nigel was going to handle then. He thought it would be best to teach her when she was there and everything was not too hectic.

The fact that Chris had easily found out and brought it up in an unnerving fashion all the more angered her.

"I want inventories done in two hours," she finally said, sending her intimidation into every word. "And tomorrow, you're on babysitting duty."

The young woman walked towards the door. She was about to open it to leave when she was stopped by her incessant coworker.

"Aren't I already?"

She looked back at him with a cold stare. "I mean with the dozens of hatchlings roaming about in the valley, plus the _Ornithomimus_ chicks that hatched recently."

With that said, Hazel stormed out the room, slamming the door on the way out. The two employees left behind cringed at the sound, but the sleeping _Plateosaurus_ was surprisingly unaffected. Only loud snores sounded off into the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was not very long before Chris and Daisy found themselves leaving the infirmary. The head of the veterinarian department had assigned two other vets to look after Lewie while she was away. The reason why she was leaving was the same as her coworkers'; a late lunch break. Considering that the prosauropod was going to be asleep for the next couple of hours and that the _Protoceratops_ sisters were going to wake up in a bit, the two young recruits needed a break. That and Chris said he wanted to get a quick snack before knuckling down on his impromptu assignment.

Now they were walking towards the bistro, passing by employees who were moving the last of the supplies into the respective destinations. Crates filled with numerous supplies were carted off in pickup trucks or carriers.

Neither of them paid too much attention to the bustling of the park. Not with what had just happened earlier.

"Did you have to push her like that?" Daisy glared at Chris.

The young man shrugged indifferently. "What? I didn't do anything. I just merely gave her some tips."

"That did not look like it."

"You know, for a kid that is to be our fearless leader, she's a fucking bitch," the muscular employee blatantly pointed out.

The Grecian woman scoffed in disappointment. "Watch your tone there. Getting at each other's throats here will do us no good. Though, I will have to admit, I never thought Hazel would be...sour. Is there something wrong with her?"

"I don't know and I don't care," said Chris dismissively.

It was true; neither of them knew Hazel Veran for very long. Other than being acquaintances and being named as her future teammates, neither knew her very well. From the stories that their supervisors and the other employees told them, she had been through a lot.

They knew she could talk to the animals without using a communicator, after hearing about the incident at the lake from last year. That event was quite jarring for the new recruits. They knew she went on more adventures than them, like retrieving three _Allosaurus_ , two _Supersaurus_ , a herd of _Diplodocus_ , a _Rhamphorhynchus_ , and an _Ornitholestes_. They knew she was the one that rescued the multispecies herd that lived in the valley in Prehistoric Park and the lemurs that came with them. They also knew that she was the one who helped resolve the park's second breakout and, from what they were told after their first day on the job, the park's third breakout.

That was what they knew of Hazel. Just through stories. Whether they were true or not was up to the person. But the employees and the Residents believed them to be true.

But neither of the young recruits knew Hazel as a person. The woman would not spend too much time around them, save for when she was approached or if she was in the vicinity. She was always around the Residents, specifically a group of dinosaurs and lemurs in the valley. Her past was a mystery to them. What they did know was that Prehistoric Park was founded by Nigel and Hazel's father. Her father's whereabouts were unknown to them. Neither of them thought about asking, mostly due to getting used to the place, the new duties that were thrust on them, and that they would be told it was a "touchy subject" or "it was best if you asked Nigel or his friends as they would tell you more".

They were going to find out soon enough. But the woman they had just parted ways from a while ago did not match the description of someone that was to be their future leader. For Chris, he found himself appreciating her less by the day.

His brooding about her attitude towards them was interrupted by a shudder next to him.

"Oh goodness…"

"Something wrong?" he glanced at the apparently shivering vet.

"Sorry…just cold," she replied. Despite wearing a pink jacket, skirt, and stockings, Daisy was shivering. Her hands were folding into each other for warmth before being hugged close to her. "I've been to cold places in the past, but I've never been to Alaska before."

"Really?"

She shook her head. "No. Never have. I didn't know it would be cold in the summer."

Chris's eyes narrowed. "Yeah… me neither."

For the first time since arriving there, he found his suspicions to be confirmed. Coming from Seattle, Washington, he was used to cold climates. His home was quite variable; from mild, summer days, to winters that dropped to below freezing. There was not much rain, but living in a northern state, one tended to experience a lot of snow during the winter. In short, it was mostly cool to cold throughout the year. Alaska had climate that was similar. The cool temperature did not bother him, but he could not help but feel suspicious about the climate. If it was summer, it would be a bit warmer than this.

Summers in Washington could go up to the 70s, 80s or even the 90s if it were really hot. The summer weather in Alaska should be somewhat similar, perhaps like a warm spring season. But to him, it felt unusually cold.

Not to mention there was the occasional patch of fog that passed over the park. It was not uncommon for Alaska to have some fog in the mountains. Usually, fog would form over a body of water or moist land. That phenomenon would occur in spring and fall, when the temperatures were changing. To Chris, it was odd.

His black North Place ski sweater and denim jeans were enough to keep him warm. But even he could not ignore the chill that was creeping on his fingers.

Before he could dwell more on it, his thinking was interrupted when a young man dressed in an orange Overwatch hoodie and had a toolbelt filled to the brim with supplies came barreling up to them. Following close behind him, due to being tugged at his neck by a rope, was Espantos the Terror Bird. The younger employee gasped as he bent down to hold his knees.

"Hey guys!" he gasped for air after running across the park. "We got a problem!"

"Ellis? What is it?" asked Daisy.

The young man looked up at them. Even though it was a cool day, his forehead was filled sweat.

"Hey you know when Espantos was running south of the park and I had to catch him?" he asked them.

Chris took one glance at the avian. He showed no sign of discomfort at the thing that was around his neck. In fact, he pulled it taught with his beak and was strumming it with one of his talons, creating a muffled plucking sound like a string instrument.

"Yeah. You did a good job reeling him back," said Chris. "Is that a rope on his neck?" he wondered as to how he was able to lasso a bird that could run faster than a jeep.

"No it's a new fancy tie that Espantos was trying on. We were playing dressup." laughed Ellis a little too enthusiastically. "Yes it's a rope! He wouldn't stop running so I had to lasso him while riding an ATV! Poor guy crashed into a tree without a driver when he yanked me off it."

Ellis turned to his Miocene partner. "Seriously, Espantos? What the heck is wrong with you? You were fine this morning when we got here."

"You counting when those two Verans arrived?" Chris snorted.

If the engineer heard that, he did not give any sign. "Now it's like you're in a hurry to get out of here. You're never like this."

"I don't know," Espantos shrugged his near-nonexistent wings. "I just got to go. Something is telling me to run."

"Good or bad?"

"I don't know," he said again, doing the same thing. "It's like my legs have a mind of their own. Then again, they do. I sleepwalk sometimes."

Chris slapped his hands on his sides in utter bewilderment. "Is this the problem you're talking about? Just give the bird some sleepwalking medication and a tighter leash."

Ellis rolled his eyes. "Neither of which will do any good. But that's not the point! It's what we saw when we were in the outskirts."

"What? What did you see?" Daisy inquired.

"New possible friends!" the hypercarnivore excitedly exclaimed. "Lots of them! Knob-noses too, like Tirech and his daddy."

" _Pachyrhinosaurus_?" Chris said to confirm.

"Yeah, and they don't look too happy!" commented the frantic partner of Espantos.

No time was wasted after the duo explained to them what they had seen. The small group of four quickly left for the outskirts of the park, interested, or worried if you were a human, of what was occurring.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hazel briskly walked through another portion of the park, fuming over yet another peevish encounter with Chris. Honestly, out of the 7.4 billion people on the planet, did Nigel have to choose this guy? Well, Bob would also be at fault since he was the one that suggested him. His over-analytic, sarcastic, and rude behavior just clashes with her own! And yet Nigel expects her to get along with him?

She could not help that she was having a bad day. It was not her fault she was upset because her mom was now stuck in the distant past with her. Plus, all she was trying to do was to make sure that her teammates were doing everything right. Everything needs to be perfect for the three month stay. One slip-up and everyone in the Park would be in danger. Even if they did survive and she messed up on something, her chance at becoming Prehistoric Park's leader would just plummet down the void.

No, everything needs to go perfectly, and that guy is just being an obstacle to her.

As she was bypassing the few employees that were headed towards the other enclosures to look after the Residents, or to check on other matters, she failed to notice a large shape gliding over her head. One look at the huge shadow on the ground and her attention turned skyward. The other humans were mildly surprised by her landing, as they backed away to allow the large pterosaur to land.

Hazel straightened herself out, prepared to meet a surprisingly distressed Flia.

"Hazel, there you are!" the sky scout called out quickly.

"Flia? What's the matter?" her anger towards Chris turned to concern for her friend.

"Trouble! Down south!" Flia gestured her head towards the southern portion of the park. "You need to come see!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Patchi did not know how to make of what he was now looking at. He and his herd had been traveling for weeks just to get to this place. After their harrowing escape from the Albertosaurus a while ago, the whole herd had been on alert for any large carnivore in the vicinity. Crossing the Alaskan plains and the sparse forests did not reveal anything too dangerous, save for the usual small carnivores that sought to weed out the younglings and the sick.

Their trek across Ambush Alley in the past would usually have an encounter with a few large carnivores, mostly _Gorgosaurus_. However, they were quite fortuitous to find only a few scavengers that ate at the remains of unfortunates from before. They were lucky, this time. Ambush Alley was known to be a hotspot for large carnivores to feast on passing herds. Now, it would seem that there were none in the area that minded the hotspot. Perhaps they abandoned it for the season?

Or was there something else at play? Whatever it was, it was not Patchi's problem. At least the herd did not lose any more of their number.

But now there was a new problem. That problem consisted of strangers roaming about their usual spot in the Feeding Grounds.

Their Feeding Grounds was large. There was enough space for several individuals to roam around in. But his herd preferred the area at the very end due to the amount of food and space for them to take up. The rest of the valley would usually be occupied by other herds, and the resources would be "spoken for". Large herbivores like hadrosaurs, other ceratopsians, nodosaurs, and even ankylosaurs would flock to the Feeding Grounds. Sure, they could roam the rest of the valley, but this particular portion was the best place to support them without any competition. Any visitor who comes by here would get at the resources available, but would leave as soon as the large herd arrives. Their population size is enough to tell them that the area is reserved.

But now, their part of the sanctuary was taken over by strangers whose numbers rivaled theirs.

Patchi suffered much, both emotionally and physically. The journey consisted of little rest as they could not afford to risk getting ambushed by large predators. The loss of much of his herd pained his heart like thousands of claws shredding it. His feet ached, his muscles cried for the sweet embrace of the earth. The only thing that kept him from going insane besides the survivors of his herd were that Juniper, his children, his brother Scowler, Alex, and the three refugees that traveled with them were okay, after that massacre back at that one river. Now it would seem that Mother Nature just loved to taunt them with security being yanked away at a moment's reach.

The alpha took an observation at what creatures were in his herd's space. He saw some _Pachyrhinosaurus_ , something he was a bit more tolerant towards. There was another type of ceratopsian, where they had spikes that were fashioned around their frills, along with a single large horn on the snout. But the rest were most unfamiliar. There were two leggeds that roamed about, one type having lanky necks and the other having sharp horns adorning a domed head. There were large, teal colored hadrosaurs with long curved crests on their heads. Then, there were the blue-toned crestless hadrosaurs that seemed to make up the majority of the group. To him, they looked like _Edmontosaurus_ , except they were leaner and shorter than them. They also lacked the leveled, flattened snouts of that particular species.

Patchi had never seen these creatures before, save for the knob noses like him and the ones with the horns around the frills. _Styracosaurus_ was what he remembered. They were similar to the _Centrosaurus_ he and his herd encountered in the past. But it was not just the appearance of the herd that surprised him.

Upon seeing these individuals interact with each other, he realized that they were all part of a herd. This was one giant herd that was made up of different species. How and why this herd was like this, he had no idea. One thing he was certain of was that they were taking up the only part of the valley that can support a big herd like his.

And he did not like any minute of it.

A quick flutter of wings brought his attention skyward. The feel of little clawed feet on his frill betrayed the arrival of his friend Alex.

"Ay yi yi. That is one big herd," the _Alexornis_ made a bird whistle.

"Yeah, I noticed. You ever seen any of these guys before?"

"Minus the Pachys and those spiky guys, no."

"How many of them are we talking here?" inquired the alpha.

"From what I saw, they're about as big as ours. Better watch out with this bunch. _**¡**_ _Mira!_ Check out that blue guy," the bird said.

Patchi did look. Out of all of these strangers, one of them seemed to have appeared more composed and dignified. He showed no uncertainty as the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ approached. Even the female next to him, Patchi assumed it was his mate, showed no fear. The rest of their herd, as soon as they noticed their approach, gathered together warily behind them. Their behavior revealed the two quadrupeds at the front to be the leaders.

"I don't play well with these kinds of things. I think I'll let you guys sort this out."

With that said, the little black and red bird took off with a flutter of wings. Alex made for the trees to the left, eager to get away from what may turn ugly later on. Patchi hoped this would go smoothly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aladar braced himself as best as he could. Getting transported from their warm valley home to a cool northern place was one thing. Encountering a large herd of _Pachyrhinosaurus_ unexpectedly was another. What was more was that neither of them looked too happy, especially the one that now stood several feet from him. He also took note of a green-colored one that kept pawing at the ground, ready to charge at anyone should this meeting not go well. The alpha made sure to keep his guard up; he had no idea what they were up against.

This one seemed to be the leader of the herd all right. The rest of the herd gave him and the pale female some space. Aladar heard his own herd make sounds of uncertainty behind him. They shifted and spoke amongst themselves on the arrival of these strangers.

Aladar cleared his throat before greeting them. "Uh hello! Welcome to...our home away from home," he said, finding the best way to describe their situation. "We didn't think we'd have any visitors. You guys must be the locals."

"Locals?" the burly green one snorted. Other than his appearance, Aladar found him very similar to Nero. "I hardly think that's the best way to put it. You guys have something that's ours, and we want it back."

The alpha raised an eye ridge. "Excuse me?"

"What my brother means to say," said the alpha, who was apparently smaller than the forest-colored warrior. "Is that you and your buddies are on our land. We've been traveling for a long time. We're tired and hungry."

"Oh. Well, you guys are welcome here. I'm sure we can make space for you guys."

The leader's eyes narrowed. "I think not. This is our usual living spot during our migrations. Your herd is just as large as mine. This spot of the valley can only support one large herd. Two is not going to cut it."

"I don't understand," Neera chose this time to speak up. "This is a large valley. Surely there should be enough food, water, and space for your herd."

"I beg to differ," the one with the hole in the frill spat. "There are a lot more migratory herds that will come to this valley. This place can only support so many, and this spot is the best one to support my herd. This is our land, and we want it back."

Aladar felt the tension in the air become tangible; at least, he thought so. One look at his mate and he saw her anger build up. Before he could step in and try to prevent hostility, Neera spoke up once more in an adamant manner.

"How can you claim this as yours? Where's the proof? You can't just call something that belongs to everyone as your own," she defended.

"Listen lady," the alpha's brother interjected. Aladar winced at the insult his mate received. She did not like to be called in such a way. "My brother and I are in a really bad mood. The herd's been through a lot the past few weeks. Now, we're only going to say this once. Get off our land and nobody gets hurt."

The slender female growled angrily. "I'm sorry, but we're not leaving."

"Come again, missy?"

"For your information, we have nowhere else to go. Our real home is recovering and until it's back to its full glory, we can't leave."

The hot headed ceratopsian laughed sadistically. "Oh well that's just too bad then. It looks like we're going to have to just kick you out...the hard way."

The pale female took a few steps forward, her back at Aladar and Neera. "Hold on! Can't we just get through this peacefully? Hasn't our herd been through enough?"

"Yeah they have," he argued. "But we're not going to go anywhere with these bozos still around."

"Enough!" the female's mate and the alpha broke the fight. The female backed away out of surprise from her mate's outburst. He then focused his attention at the two _Iguanodons_ , specifically towards Aladar. "If you and your herd won't leave, then you leave me no choice. I challenge you for this place!"

Caught off guard, the sea-colored leader shook his head at the idea. None of them knew that this place was a Feeding Ground, but someone claiming this land as their own even though there was no proof that it did belong to them was not right. "No, I won't fight you. There has to be another way."

At that moment, a burly, gruff, voice that sounded militaristic erupted from behind him. A quick glance around and he saw Sarge the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ muscle his way to the front passed a _Styracosaurus_ and another male _Iguanodon_. "Afraid not, Aladar. This guy means business. One thing you're probably aware of is that we Pachy's are pretty stubborn. We won't stop until something gets done or is done. He challenged you to a fight. I may not be the leader, but judging by the situation, you back out, then you lose. Or in this case, we all lose and their herd will chase us out. Then again, it's probably common sense. And don't think about trying to talk your way out of this one. We let our horns and bones do the talking."

"Wise words coming from an old timer," said the rival leader. Sarge took offense to that and called out at being called old. "Now come on, I haven't got all day!"

"Look, we don't have to do this," Aladar tried to reason but with little success.

"Well that's too bad. If you're not going to fight, then that makes this easier for me!"

Before Aladar could object, the diminutive _Pachyrhinosaurus_ charged at him. The _Iguanodon_ barely dodged out of the way with a jump, his mate doing the same thing. Rather than hitting flesh, the alpha ceratopsian just kept charging towards the Valley herd. Several of the members called out in fright at the incoming knob-nose. Others backed away fearfully. Luckily, he skidded to a stop before he could cause any damage.

Aladar was relieved that his herd was okay. But he felt ashamed that he allowed such a thing to happen, all because he did not remember that his own herd was standing right behind him. He noted to himself to be more careful in his movements to prevent anyone else from getting hurt.

The oppressor turned around, roaring angrily. Once again, he charged. Aladar dodged again with ease, his own species having the speed advantage in contrast to Pachyrhinosaurs. This time, he used his own body weight to shove the ceratopsian. The rival alpha veered off balance, and took him by surprise.

The herd leader knew a thing or two about Pachyrhinosaurs due to being herd leader for quite some time and thanks to witnessing some training sessions between Sarge and his son Tirech. His friend Hazel, on the other hand, had no idea on the matter. It was before they left for Temporary Park, when he and Hazel were discussing the plans of the move. They saw the red ceratopsian do some mock sparring with the youngling. Both of them were invited to witness their training. Aladar advised her to stay for the match, as she would learn a bit more about Pachyrhinosaurs.

The event proved educational for the young Hazel. Aladar already knew it; Pachyrhinosaurs are tough in both offense and defense, but they did have some weaknesses. For one thing, once they charge, they would have a hard time turning. And the other thing? Their blind sides were their flanks. Hazel said that they were like rhinos, or as another comparison, trucks that were going at full speed. If something pushed them off balance, they would trip over.

The alpha used that knowledge to his advantage. He pushed against the squirming ceratopsian before successfully pinning him on the ground. His attempt to stomp at him was thwarted when he found himself pushed off. He landed on his side, minutely dazed and shocked.

This one was strong for a runt.

The rival recovered and rolled onto his feet. Already, both herds were cheering on their champions to win the fight. Sarge was incessantly yelling commands to go for his flanks. The green _Pachyrhinosaurus_ from earlier was telling his brother to break a leg.

Aladar quickly got up, but not fast enough to react to a bony snout colliding with his right shoulder. The force impacted bone like a battering ram to a wooden door. He screamed in pain; his shoulder had been dislocated. Thankfully, it was not in a position where his arm would break.

The _Iguanodon_ tried to shake him off, only to find himself being pushed back. His feet dragged against the grass, making deep line indentations from his heels.

In his mind, he fought the little voice that was telling him to hurt this alpha. He and his herd had been through something traumatizing, that much he could tell. He just didn't know what. Aladar wanted to talk some sense into this _Pachyrhinosaurus_. But he remembered Sarge's words on how Pachys were like when in battle. Judging by how he was acting, this ceratopsian would not be agreeable to reason.

It was at this point that Aladar relented on his original decision. He had no choice but to fight it out. He stabbed his thumb spikes into his flanks with a roar. The frilled one yelped in agony at the feel of sharp bone digging into his skin, yet he did not relent in his attack. He pushed onwards, meeting resistance as the larger ornithopod was putting his weight in his rear legs to hold him back.

Aladar used this moment to trap the alpha again. He used his strength to push him down. This time, he pinned him on the neck with a hoof, his other on his side. The ceratopsian gagged at the sensation of his esophagus being crushed. Both herds cheered and booed at their leaders' positions.

"Submit," Aladar said, holding his weight onto the opponent.

Just then, the _Iguanodon_ alpha found himself knocked off his feet. He fell onto his side with a grunt, his left ribs aching by whatever broadsided him. Lifting his head up slightly, he could see the pale female from earlier pawing threateningly at the ground by her fallen mate.

"Juniper!?" the leading ceratopsian exclaimed her name. "What are you doing!? This is my fight!"

"I wouldn't interfere in matters like this, but I couldn't let him have his way at you," she said, locking eyes onto the recovering Aladar. "This blue boy's mine!"

Juniper stormed up to the stunned _Iguanodon_ alpha male. His vision was blurred, but he could make out the image of the pale female getting broadsided by a purple quadruped. One double take and he found his own mate standing defensively in front of him.

"You want to get at him, you're going to have to go through me first," she threatened, pawing at the ground as well.

The ceratopsian alpha female rolled back onto her legs. Her head lowered, aimed at the ornithopod's chest area. "Bring it skinny-legs!"

And so the battle resumed when the two females clashed. Horn frills, hard bone, and thumb spikes met flesh. Aladar and Patchi came at each other, studying their movements before making decisive blows. Blood dripped from their wounds in small streams. Stab wounds created craters in once-pristine scales. Bruises and scrapes covered nearly all of their bodies.

The cheering and jeering continued on both sides of the ring. Dinosaurs yelled at their champions to not give up. Both competitors on each side clashed and fell before getting back up. Neither wanted to give in; there was too much at stake.

In contrast to the clamor of the crowd, Scowler and Sarge gave their companions advice on how to fight.

"June, watch out!" the green warrior called out to his sister-in-law after seeing her take tail swipes across the face from the slender _Iguanodon_ female. "She's trying to go for your flanks!"

"Yeah I know that!" she yelled, barely dodging another swipe.

Then, the pale-colored _Pachyrhinosaurus_ found herself ganged up on when Aladar came in from the other side. He did a tail swipe at her, knocking her off balance before falling onto the ground. The blue-green _Iguanodon_ let out a challenging roar, but was then broadsided again by Patchi again, thus causing Neera to come after him as well.

"Patchi!" Scowler hollered at his brother at the incoming attack. "Watch your-"

Too late. The fuschia _Iguanodon_ female attacked him with a forceful shove. The ceratopsian was forced onto the ground, two more stab wounds penetrated at his ribs.

"Side…"

Scowler shook his head at the state of his immediate family in the battle. "Neither of them aren't going to last."

Impulse acted on his body. The hefty _Pachyrhinosaurus_ charged into the ring, attacking the first opponent he laid eyes on; the male alpha. Scowler did a forceful head swipe on the oppressor's side. He screamed as he was launched slightly into the air before shaking the earth with his fall.

"Scowler?" Patchi slowly got up, surprised at the appearance of his brother. "You too?"

"Someone's got to haul your butt from the fire," he glanced at his recovering younger brother. "These guys can't take three against two."

The two brothers charged at the dazed Aladar, overwhelming him.

The fight continued on for several minutes. The girls circled around each other, trying to get a good vantage point on their weak spots. The boys went at each other, like a wrestling and a fencing match gone wrong. More blood was spilled onto the ground, staining the northern plain with a deep crimson. The smell of shed iron filled the air, infuriating the senses of all nearby.

As the fight went on, Sarge was busily trying to cheer on Aladar and Neera. As a seasoned warrior, he had gone through vigorous training, and encountered his fair share of harrowing fights. As such, he was doing his best with giving the two leaders tips on where they needed to hit, which was futile as neither of them seemed to be heeding his words due to the clamoring of the crowd around him.

"Aw dang nabbit!" he cursed after seeing Aladar barely dodge a head swipe from Patchi. "Those guys won't be able to handle three of my kin! Those youngsters are strong, but I bet neither of them had enough fighting experience like me. I didn't train in the field only to quit for nothing. Time to show them what I'm made of!"

Before he could get in there, however, something large and green barreled passed him on his left. Had the conditions been different, Sarge could have mistaken the intruder as some other member of the herd. Instead, he found himself dumbfounded as Nero came charging up to Scowler.

"Out of the way, grandpa!" Nero yelled in his usual gruff tone.

Most of the herd gasped at the sudden entrance of the burly ornithopod. Some fell silent too. Even Aladar and Neera could not help but gawk in surprise when he came in. Nero had done wrong in the past, with causing the park's second breakout by making a fraud deal with the Resident Carnotaur, nearly killing the leader out of greed for his position, and for almost killing the human they came to treat as one of theirs over the past couple of years. But he had made up for his wrongdoings by giving back to the park by helping the employees with their chores, albeit reluctantly. His behavior surely mellowed out since his punishment sentence had ended, though he would be seen staying a considerable distance away from the herd.

Now, it seemed that he was proving the herd wrong again by fighting for their defense.

"Buh-what!? Hey! Who said you could get in there!?" Sarge roared in jealousy at the combatting green _Iguanodon_. "I was going to get in!"

"You were too slow, grandpa!" he replied, doing a quick tail swipe at Scowler's face.

"And stop calling me that! I'm not old!"

If Nero had been listening, he did not give any indication. The toughest members of each herd duked it out with each other, not relenting in their attacks. The fight continued on with no one else joining in. The younglings that were present were soon evacuated after much effort from their parents. The others, on the other hand, remained to see the victory of herds through.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It did not take very long for Chris, Ellis, Espantos, and Daisy to arrive at the scene. Truth be told, it took them a little under fifteen minutes when traveling by jeep. Or in Ellis' case, by Terror Bird. They were not the only ones either. The sauropods that roamed around the valley were gathering at the huge crowd; their huge sizes allowed them to see what was occurring.

When the young recruits arrived, they spotted three figures standing at the outer rim of the crowd. All of them could not get through to see the situation. One of them had no trouble due to her tall stature; she was the only one who was able to get a good look. The other two, on the other hand, were handicapped in terms of height.

Except for Ellis and Espantos, who decided to head to the inner circle to view the fight that was occurring, Daisy and Chris were the only ones to approach the two old women and the spiked Ankylosaur.

"Oh my goodness…" Daisy held onto her knees after sprinting up to the trio.

"Hey you two," the Seattle denizen called out to them, getting their attention. "Know what's going on here?"

"Oh uh…Chris was it?" the _Styracosaurus_ known as Eema rumbled, shaking her frilled head at the loss of words that came from her beak. "Sorry, my memory on your name is a bit fuzzy."

The young man raised his hands dismissively. "Apology accepted. What's going on here?"

"It would seem that there are intruders in this valley," the _Brachiosaurus_ known as Baylene craned her neck down to their level, creating a large arch. "Another herd marched up here, demanding that we vacate. We would have shared, if only the leader was in the right mind."

"Leader?" Daisy questioned, straightening herself. "A _Pachyrhinosaurus_?"

Baylene nodded. "Indeed. He just would not listen to reason. Aladar tried to talk him out of fighting, but he was quite stubborn. Forcing us to leave when we have nowhere to go? How rude!"

"Oh dear...this can't be good. We have to stop them before someone gets hurt!"

Daisy sprinted off into the herd, weaving around the giant legs of the herd members and diplodocids that towered above her.

"Hey! Get back here!" Chris called out to the retreating young veterinarian.

The keeper left for the crowd, leaving the two old women behind to contemplate on how this would turn out. Url could not do anything but whine fearfully for the friends that were caught up in the battle within.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It did not take very long for Chris and Daisy to reach the front. Squeezing passed, quickly turning, and going under large bodies that could squish a human in seconds was a risky feat. In the case of the younglings and the _Microceratus_ , the humans had to take care as to not step on them by accident. When they did reach the inner ring, a six-way match between three _Pachyrhinosaurus_ and three _Iguanodons_ greeted them most unceremoniously. Aladar, Neera, and Nero had sustained a few stab wounds in parts of their bodies. They were not deep, but they were bloody. The same went for the opposing Pachyrhinosaurs, except they had their injuries on their flanks, a result of the Iguanodons stabbing them in their weak spots.

Amongst the crowd, the two of them managed to find the missing Ellis and his partner, Espantos. They were contributing to the cheers, saying "fight" over and over again. In the case of Espantos, however, he was adding in the names of their combatants; in this case, A-Ladder, Narnia, and Knee-Rows. Daisy smacked the engineer for promoting such violence, which he quickly stopped when he met her scowling eyes.

"Well…this is a mess," Chris blatantly said as he observed the brawl.

"How do we stop them?" the young vet screamed over the cries of the herd.

The young man brought out his black radio in response to that. He flipped the switch on and began to give out his order.

"Attention any employee on site!" he began. "Anyone with a stun gun and a tranquilizer gun needs to get to the park outskirts now! This goes for any vets too! We've got a huge scuffle here!"

When he ended his command and put his radio away, the three young recruits saw something move from their peripheral vision. Coming right up to their side was a young girl with long black hair tied up in a braid wearing a nice blouse and denim capris. Hanging on her back by a strap was a quiver full of arrows. Slung over her shoulder was her bow.

The girl grasped her knees, breathing heavily and quickly after running across the park just to get to them.

"Veran lite?" Chris called out to the younger Veran with the nickname he came up with. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hey!" she straightened; scowling at the label she was given. "What are you referring by that!? I'll have you know that I'm 2 inches taller than my sister!"

He shrugged. "I call people as I see them regardless of opinion. Now what are you doing here?"

"I came…to find my sister," she took a deep breath. "I heard there was some commotion here so I decided to investigate. I thought my sister would be here. Have you seen her?"

"Not as of late," he shook his head. His response was soon followed by the others. "Where's your mom?"

"Back at the bistro. I left her there so I could look for Ate Hazel. What the heck is happening?"

Chris looked back at the violence. His face winced when he saw Nero and the green _Pachyrhinosaurus_ clash their bodies again; the largest spike on the ceratopsian embedded itself into the ornithopod's shoulder. Nero roared painfully, deafening those around him. "Well judging from what those two old ladies in the back said, these guys are the locals. They're blaming us for taking their land so they're fighting for it. Naturally, our dinosaur buddies wouldn't have any of that. I've already called any armed employee to get here, but who knows how long that's going to take."

Daisy gasped. "Stop! You'll get hurt!"

Neither of the young recruits and the Veran sister reacted fast enough when they saw someone move quickly from their right. All they could do was watch helplessly as a young woman in her early twenties dart towards the clashing giants in the ring with no regards for her own safety.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hazel's fear of an outside attack at the park came true. The White Noise Horns still needed to be installed further passed the outskirts. A large herd like this would have no problem getting to this place, and the same could be said for any large carnivore that wandered into the area.

When she heard Chris' message on a brawl happening in the park's outskirts, she worried about her friends. The only Residents that were there would be Aladar and Neera's herd and the sauropods that freely roamed the area. Hazel had no idea why some native _Pachyrhinosaurus_ would be attacking, but this was a dire situation. She had to get to her friends and the herds before anything else could happen.

Circling above the gathered crowd, Hazel got a good view of the battle. Sure enough, her friends Aladar and Neera were battling against a few of the _Pachyrhinosaurus_. She was also surprised to see Nero in the fight. Why he was there helping the two alphas, she had no idea. He may be better mannered now but even he could still have a grudge against Aladar; he could still be pining for his role as leader.

Leadership was not the issue now. He was in the fight, and this fight needed to stop.

As soon as she and Flia landed in the inner rim of the ring, Hazel did what most would think as the stupidest decision in this situation. To her, she merely acted on impulse.

She ran towards the battle combatants; no dagger and no stun gun. The worried shrieks of Flia to come back went through her ears like air.

"Had enough?" panted the exhausted and wounded Aladar.

"No," an equally tired but determined Patchi replied, taking a few steps back to do another attack. "I'm not stopping until you and your herd gets out of our land!" he cried out. The Pachyrhinosaur charged up to his oppressor as fast as his legs could take him.

"So be it!" answered Aladar, charging up to him, ready to meet the horns and bone of the angered ceratopsian again.

"KNOCK IT OFF!"

The two alphas screamed in surprise at the sudden appearance of the young human. Both of them buckled their feet, their hooves kissed the ground to create firm dirt tracks. Patchi had to turn his body to the side to prevent any part of his armored head from meeting her. Aladar did the same thing with far less difficulty. Both of them were just a few feet from crushing the park leader.

The four other combatants ceased their fighting as they gazed over at the girl who stopped the battle. The herds fell quiet immediately. Even the humans that were present found their voices to be gone when she had done that. Hanna nearly fainted at the sight.

Hazel had stopped the alpha males from clashing by outstretching her hands on both sides.

"What, in all of God's given graces, is going on here!?" she demanded at everyone present.

"Hazel!" Aladar said angrily with concern, being the first to break out of his stupor. "What are you doing!? I could have hurt you!"

Her eyes met his emerald, strong ones. Her reaction hid any sense of intimidation, showing defense. "Yeah? Well you would have been in a worse state had I not intervened!"

The _Iguanodon_ gawked at the point she had given. No words escaped from him as he processed how right she was. It was foolish and simply stated, but she was right.

"Now would someone mind telling me what the fuck is happening!?"

The alpha male _Iguanodon_ ignored her cursing and replied quickly. "These guys came here and demanded that we leave this place. They claim that this land is their land."

"Which it is!" the smaller-statured _Pachyrhinosaurus_ replied, grabbing the attention of the park leader. "We go here every migration! It's our Feeding Grounds!"

Hazel looked upon the stranger in question. He was smaller than most of the others in his herd. His hide was brown with hints of orange, at least in her eyes. In fact, the rest of his herd more or less had that similar coloration, save for the pale female and the green-colored male. Their frills were also adorned with markings; circles for males and stripes for females.

The other distinguishable feature was the noticeable hole in the upper right part of his frill. A battle wound, she deduced.

Hazel, still angry for what had happened, walked up to the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ until she was mere inches from his snout. The ceratopsian was bewildered at how a small creature approached him, but stood his ground nonetheless. Anyone who could stop two rampaging dinosaurs singlehandedly deserved his attention.

"You. The one with the hole in the head. You're the leader?" she asked, looking at him dead in the eyes.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"What's your name?"

"Patchi."

"Name's Hazel," she then crossed her arms before continuing her tirade. "I don't know what the deal is, but you've got some nerve attacking my friends. I don't take kindly to anyone that hurts my family here."

"Look I don't know who," he cocked a ridge at how strange she appeared to him. "Or what you are, but your buddies have taken up the only space in this valley that can support us."

The girl almost scoffed at how absurd that sounded. "You can't just go someplace else here?"

"No!" he boomed. Hazel stood unfazed by his intimidating response. "There are going to be other herds traveling here, all of which will take their fill in different parts of this valley. This area is the only one that can support my huge herd. But your friends here," he momentarily glared at the _Iguanodon_ that he almost ran into. "Just won't leave! Now get out of the way before I smash you to bits!"

Hazel took a deep breath, trying to keep a calm composure. She was speaking to the leader of this herd, and instigating another conflict with him would lead to an unnecessary war. "Look, I'm sorry that we intruded in your space. We don't have anywhere else to go and this was the best place we could find while our home is being rebuilt."

Patchi looked at her curiously. "So you…lost your home?"

She shook her head. "Not exactly. It's a long story. We got off on the wrong foot. I want to help you," she took a quick look around and corrected herself. "All of us. Why don't you tell us everything from the beginning before any more blood is shed?"

And so the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ recounted their journey. He did not leave any details out, as he sought to instill each and every hardship they had encountered into their ears. Hazel took sympathy on the herd leader. She was not the only one either, as her friends' herd along with everyone else behind her whispered words of understanding and sympathy to the refugees. They had been through a lot just to get here. This herd had encountered much tragedy and bloodshed. Their home was lost and many of their friends perished.

Hazel could not help but feel sorry for them. If things were more favorable, she would have allowed this herd to reclaim this place. But everyone here was displaced from Prehistoric Park. They had nowhere to go. This area was the designated temporary facility during the duration their home was being rebuilt. Plus, everyone would have been placed in a vulnerable position from the dangers of this time. There were Residents that were not adapted to this place, and others that would not last very long without proper protection.

As she listened to Patchi tell her their tale of hardship and tragedy, those that participated in the brawl were being tended to by the vets that had just arrived. Thankfully, from what she overheard, their injuries were not fatal. The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ she was speaking to was going to be tended to next, soon after the rest were done. Already, bandages and ointments were being applied to their wounds. In the case of Nero, he reluctantly allowed the humans to work on him, much to his chagrin. The employees that came armed with stun guns and tranquilizers took their places throughout the herd, silently watching for any signs of betrayal within or danger from outside.

Had she been paying any more attention to her surroundings, she would have noticed a certain Terror Bird escape to the outer parts of the herds. Ellis had followed after him to get him under control, but with little success. His demands to prevent the bird from running to the edges of the park were met with refusals.

"So you guys lost your home because an army of tyrannosaurs raided your Nesting Grounds. And you and your herd have been chased by them every now and then," Hazel summarized.

"That's about it, yes," Patchi nodded.

"And now you guys are trying to find a new home."

"That's right."

The woman sighed, showing sympathy on her features. "Well I'm...sorry to hear that. You guys have been through a lot. Look, you guys have traveled from far away just to get here. We don't exactly have anywhere else to go. But we can share this space with you, even mind the amount of food here. And any injured you have, we can help look after."

"So you can't go back to your home because it's recovering?" he asked to clarify.

Hazel shrugged. "Pretty much, yes. There's a food shortage. We left it so that it could recover. Some of us remained at home to oversee its regrowth."

Then, the female _Pachyrhinosaurus_ that lay off to the side spoke up. From Patchi's explanation, her name was Juniper, his mate and the alpha female. The other _Pachyrhinosaurus_ was Scowler, Patchi's brother. Her voice sounded sweet but strong at the same time. The vets had finished wrapping her legs with bandages and were tending to the injuries on her sides. "Your home, is it a valley?"

"Oh yes, it is," she told her.

"Do you think it could support our herd?"

"I wouldn't see why not," said Hazel. She was not wrong; once the three months were over, Prehistoric Park would have more space added to its territory. "I mean, we're a sanctuary of about 400 individuals. I'm sure the valley could support another herd."

She hoped this would appease the leaders. If they waited out these three months, they could take their herd to a place with lots of food, water, and space. The park would not mind several more additions. In fact, Nigel would have jumped in an opportunity like this if he were here.

She watched as the two alphas silently convened with each other, despite the distance between them. The alpha male slightly shook his head before turning his attention back to the waiting human.

"We'll think about your offer," he said, dampening her spirits a bit. "Right now, we've got a lot on our mind, such as preparing ourselves for the cold days."

"Cold days? What are you talking about?" Hazel inquired.

Just then, a black and red plumed bird shot out from the left side of the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ herd. Hazel exclaimed in surprise at the appearance of the prehistoric avian that now hovered above her. It was small, about as big as a crow. The wing had large red feathers at the end with the middle being white and the arms being black. The crest that adorned the head was red, almost like that of a rooster. Two long red tail feathers trailed from behind like a styled scarf.

Hazel may be adept with many species of dinosaurs, but in this case, her mind came up with no answer for what this bird was. There were many bird species that lived during the Late Cretaceous. Trying to decipher the species would be difficult without some proper research. Hazel made a note to try to look into it later.

"He means the coming _invierno_ ," the bird said in what Hazel would deduce as a Spanish accent.

"Whoa!" she gawked. "Where'd you come from?"

" _Lo siento_ ," he apologized before introducing himself. "I am Alex, a friend of theirs. Listen _señorita_ , _mi amigo_ Patchi and his herd have traveled a long way to come here after getting kicked out of their home. They usually come here when the days start to get cold."

Hazel collected herself from the bird's intrusion. He spoke using Spanish phrases, however, that did not seem to bother the young time traveler.

Before she came to Prehistoric Park, Hazel took Spanish classes in high school as part of her curriculum. It was a requirement for students to learn up to two years of a foreign language in order to graduate with honors. Hazel studied for four years, only because she needed the extra credits. It was a good thing she did so, otherwise she would be a clueless wreck in front of this avian.

Hazel had a bit more practice when she joined Prehistoric Park's ranks. There were at least five employees that were of Hispanic descent that spoke Spanish. Therefore, it was imperative that she utilized the language with them whenever possible. A future leader knowing a foreign language or two would prove advantageous to her after all. This bird, whatever he was, proved to be no problem to her.

" _Mucho gusto. Me llamo Hazel_ ," she introduced in Spanish, much to the surprise of the prehistoric bird and everyone around her. _"¿Y perdóname? ¿Qué es esto de invierno?"_

Alex gawked, clearly impressed by the skill she possessed. "Oh you know my language?"

"I know enough to understand," she said simply. "Now about the _invierno_..."

"Oh, you know," the feathered one recovered from the surprise of someone else that could understand him, though he appeared to be flabbergasted that this someone would not know what he was talking about. "It's where the white cold fuzzies from the sky fall and a chill is in the air. You feel cold and you need to snuggle close to someone that you like-"

"I know what you're talking about," Hazel interjected, cutting him off. "I'm asking about what you mean by it. We're in the beginning of the summer season. We shouldn't be experiencing that sort of thing."

The bird uttered a confused squawk. "Eh? Are you thick in the head? _No esta verano. Esta otoño_."

The girl gawked at his words. Confusion ran amok in her mind at the new information she received. How could that be? _Otoño_ is the word for autumn. He was saying it was already fall. But that did not make any sense because they were in the middle of the summer season. If it were fall, then the weather conditions would be different. It would be colder and it would be night already.

They were in Alaska, meaning that they may experience some cool days. But that did not mean it was that season. They should be experiencing conditions equivalent to that of the cool temperatures in Prehistoric Park, or warmer than that.

But, what if he was right? It was a bit too cool for summer. No, he couldn't be. It's summer. Unless…

"Hey boss! What the heck is he saying!?"

Hazel looked back, her eyes locking onto the engineer that had returned from chasing after Espantos. He was bending over, trying to catch his breath. Everyone else around them were looking at her, clueless on what sort of things they were discussing in that native language.

"Alex here is saying that it's the fall season, which I don't understand because we're in the summer season!" she replied.

Before she could speak more, she was once again interrupted by the same female _Pachyrhinosaurus_ from earlier.

"Hey uh, little two-legged?" she called out, getting the human's attention. "My friend is right. Our herd comes here every year due to the amount of food and water available, granted we arrived here a bit early. And right now, we came here for that reason."

Hazel laughed at how crazy they sounded on this. "You guys must be really tired from that migration to think that it's the fall season."

Juniper, unamused by the antic she made, responded. "You don't believe me? Then why don't you take a look behind you."

The human complied, determined to prove the female wrong. When she was expecting something minor, she only found something more jarring. Hazel had been too preoccupied with the brawl that she had been preventing that she did not pay any attention to the weather conditions. Where the sky was once partly cloudy, it was now dark with the distinct receding orange hues.

The mountains behind them that served as protection from attack in the rear now revealed an impending problem. The sun had met the horizon, and was disappearing by the moment. Every human and Resident that was present exclaimed in worry at what was happening. Even Hazel found herself utterly speechless.

The sun, the ball of fire that provided warmth to the land, disappeared behind the mountains. The land became coated in a looming darkness in the twilight. An unrelenting chill wafted in the air, chilling everyone that was present.

Espantos, who had been running amok throughout the valley, found himself back at the outskirts of the herd. Like the others, he too looked upon where the sun had once been. Taking a glance at his surroundings, he squawked in a prepped manner, despite the situation everyone was in.

"Too late to escape now. Time to find a warm place here!"


	14. New Plans and Old Memories

_**Soundtrack: Desert Sun by Maryse Briffa/Fight the Storm by Meegz0**_

Hazel shut the metal door behind her. The insulated walls of the workshop barred the cool Alaska air from coming in. Compared to the fifty degree temperatures outside, it was a comfortable seventy inside, mostly because Ellis had his heater placed on high in the back.

If Marcus' workshop was a perfectionist's nightmare, they would find this place to be relieving. All of the tools and projects were neatly placed on tables and shelves lining the space. The lone ATV and even a motorcycle that Ellis had been working on in the park were parked in the back, both covered by tarps. A small white fridge was situated next to them; most likely containing cold drinks and maybe a couple of snacks. The only source of light he had on, at least for the moment, was a desk lamp on his table where his laptop was. It was obvious that Ellis planned to use this place as a little "private study", but really, anyone was welcome to come in so long as they put everything back to where they found it. The young engineer had a certain order to adhere to.

Just hours ago, Hazel had instructed Aladar and Neera, along with Charles and Yin, to direct their herds to the large white tents to bunk for the night. The heaters there should be powered up by now, making the shelters into saunas, at least, warm enough to combat the chill outside. The rest of the Residents that were sensitive to the change in temperature were given blankets, at least, until something could be done to help them cope with the cold for the whole stay. The Residents that were safe from the cold were the ones that were inside their own houses; the Bugs, the Microraptors and the Yi Qi (as they had their own indoor aviary), the Protoceratops (they were still in the Nursery), the lemurs and Irwin, since they were bunking together.

Tomorrow, Hazel was going to hold a meeting for the whole staff on dealing with the new predicament they were in. Already, ideas on what to discuss were pouring into her mind, like assigning guard shifts to the employees.

But right now, her main priority was determining how they get to this problem in the first place.

"Alright Ellis, status report," she asked the engineer that was fiddling around with the Time Poles at his desk. The contraptions laid there next to his 15-inch Dell laptop, one of them had its panel open and a USB wire was connecting it to the right side of the computer.

"What is there to report?" he replied, not giving her a glance as he was busy looking at the blackened screen with green lettering. "I don't see anything wrong with the Time Poles."

"You were there in the valley. We all saw the sun set. From what I do know about weather in Alaska, it's supposed to be daylight 24/7 during the summer. So why the heck did the sun just set? And come to think of it, it's a bit 'too cold' for summer," Hazel pointed out.

Ellis shrugged. "I don't know, boss." His fingers then started working away on the keyboard, the coding on the screen changed as he flipped through them all. "Okay according to the tests...everything is normal. No virus, no malware, not that there should be any unless someone's stupid and plugged an infected drive in for some nefarious purpose...everything seems to be working fine."

Hazel narrowed her eyes at what she was looking at. She was no expert on computer codes, but he was more of an expert at computers than her. She had no choice but to trust on what he was telling her. "That doesn't explain why it's the middle of the fall season."

"I have no idea. These poles are state of the art according to my brother and Nigel. There shouldn't be anything…oh," his words fell away. His eyes widened in surprise.

The leader glanced at the engineer and saw that he was literally frozen at a screen that he was looking at.

"What?" she asked.

He slowly turned to her before chuckling nervously. The girl felt a hint of frustration rise in her.

"Um…" he uttered before he took out a slip of paper from one of his pockets. He took a look at it and then slowly placed it behind the keyboard, still in shock.

"What is it, Ellis?"

"I uh…I think I found the problem."

Hazel's left brow quirked. "And that is?"

"Well you know when everything was still being moved to this place before everyone was moving in?" he started quickly.

"Yeah, what about it?"

Ellis gulped. "My brother was too busy making sure everything was operational for the move and so were the other engineers. They had their jobs. So he had me be in charge of the Time Poles. He had me put in the exact time and place of Temporary Park. I had it all written down on this piece of paper," he lifted it up slightly before setting it back down.

"So what's wrong?"

He grimaced, his neck muscles spreading a bit. "I uh...I think I may have transposed a couple of the numbers, hence why we're in the fall season rather than summer."

Hazel gawked and then screamed. "WHAT!?"

Her reaction caused the young man to cover his ears. A look of pain showed on his features from becoming deaf for a moment. "Ow! Easy on the ears! I'll lose my hearing."

The woman slapped her hands on her sides and then made a haphazard apology. "Oh I'm sorry! But I can't help but react on the fact that you just sent us to the middle of the fall season! Not all of the Residents can adapt to this sort of climate you know!"

Ellis lifted his hands to try to calm her. "Hey hey relax! It's just a small setback."

"A small setback?" she gestured a hand towards the door. "You call what's going on outside a small setback!?"

"It's just a difference in temperature," he tried, despite the pressure they were under. "We can adapt. We've got the resources to survive cold spells. Any Resident who's not up to the change, we'll have to have them bunk in those white tents in the outskirts. Those huge tents can hold a lot you know."

"They can't spend the whole time staying in those tents! Aladar and Neera's herd, the sauropods, and most of the Residents here? We saved them from places where it was warmer."

"And they won't," he reassured. "We'll figure something out. We could create personal warming tents in their enclosures, like you mentioned earlier."

Hazel sighed. Two of her fingers grasped at the bridge of her nose. The head engineer sitting before may be frustrating with his laid-back attitude, but even he did make a point there. She did mention earlier about smaller warming tents. The staff could set them up inside the other enclosures to help keep the Residents warm. Her only concern was them constantly remaining in those tents during the upcoming winter. They couldn't stay in there the whole time.

While that was a problem, the other was on how the staff would fare against the weather. She hoped that Ellis may have some kind of solution.

"Okay. Fine. We'll just have to make do, I suppose. What about our own resources? The power? I may not be as much of an expert as you are in engineering, but if I can guess how we're going right now on our energy, we won't last the whole stay here."

Ellis nodded, confirming her guess. "Yeah, you're right. I may have an idea or two on how to go about the energy problem though."

The woman's eyes narrowed at him. "Good. You brought us into this mess after all," she muttered.

Despite the offensive remark she made, the younger Rey brother made no indication that he heard it. Knowing whether he heard it or not was not her concern right now. If he took offense to it, then so be it. It was his fault they were in this situation in the first place.

Hazel let out a breath, focusing on the matter at hand. "We're going to have a staff meeting early tomorrow regarding the situation. Send me a report on that before then."

"Roger that," he inspected the screen again and fell silent once more. "Uh...I just found...another thing. You probably need to know this one."

The girl groaned. "What is it now?"

"Remember when we planned on staying here for the next three months as planned?"

Hazel crossed her arms and leaned on the desk. She gave the employee a scrutinizing gaze. "What about it?"

"I uh...may have accidentally touched that delicate area and...slightly adjusted the numbers on there."

"YOU WHAT!?" she shrieked again.

Ellis grimaced again, massaging his ears at the sudden outburst. He looked at her and went on about defending himself from whatever punishment she was about to dish out. "Hey I'm sorry! I didn't know how these things worked! My brother was too busy with getting things organized that he didn't teach me properly on how your Time Poles worked!"

"So what did you do?" she slammed her hands on the desk. "Extend our stay!?"

"Yes…but not by much," he tried. "I accidentally plugged in certain numbers and rather than stay here for three months, it's four months. If what I'm seeing on the screen is right, the date is November 15 at the moment. Then again, our sense of time didn't really exist in this time period, but that's just what the screen is saying."

Hazel face palmed. Knowing that they'll be stuck here for a total of four months instead of three just added on to the stresses of their time here. It was an inference, but he did not mention anything about the two years on the other side. If Ellis did not mess anything with that, which she hoped he did not, then it should be okay. Still, knowing that they'll be here longer was a problem enough.

"Son of a bitch...this just keeps getting more interesting by the minute," she rubbed her temples from the headache that was starting to form. "Is there anything else I need to know about?"

Suddenly, as if Fate came knocking, the door behind her blew open. Following that was a woman squealing in surprise and a young man grunting. Quickly turning around, the two present were surprised to see a woman dressed in a pink outfit with red crosses on her skirt and a man wearing a dark North Face sweatshirt and denim jeans.

Hazel rolled her eyes. This day just kept getting better and better.

"Of course…" she remarked on the two that were eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Hey, nice of you guys to drop in," Ellis greeted nonchalantly.

"Yeah, couldn't help but overhear," Chris said, getting back up and then patting the dust off of him. "It was kind of hard to not listen with Veran's screaming."

The leader of Temporary Park shot him a glare. It was not an insult, but it was a remark that did tick her off. This conversation was supposed to be private after all.

Daisy, who recovered next, responded worriedly. "So…so is it true? We're really in the fall season?"

Ellis nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so."

"And we'll be here for four months?"

"Yes."

At that moment, the head veterinarian began to take quick, sharp breaths. Her hands clenched until they turned white. Neither of them had known Daisy for long, but seeing her freak out this much was uncomfortable. She paced around the room in circles, repeatedly saying how much danger they were in. It was clear that she was prepared for three months, but four months had apparently scared her.

Ellis took the initiative and gently led her over to his chair. He grabbed a paper bag from one of his shelves and gave it to her. The young vet opened it and started to breathe in it; the paper expanded and deflated with the rhythm of her breathing until her pace gradually slowed.

"Hey, this might not be the best time," Chris spoke up after breaking out of his stunned trance. "But I think I can help."

Hazel's brow arched. "Help how? You got a way to reverse this mess? Maybe get us out of here?"

Chris gave her an annoyed glance before starting his explanation. "I mean with how to cope. I'm from Seattle, which, as we all know, is a pretty cold city. We're in the southern part of Alaska, meaning that climate conditions here should be more or less similar to where I'm from. I've lived in Seattle for as long as I can remember. I know what it's like."

"You think you can provide everybody here some insight on how to deal with this place?" the engineer asked while gently patting the freaked out vet on the back. "There's going to be a staff meeting tomorrow morning."

"I guess I can."

Ellis' eyes went up in mild approval. "Great! Cause it looks like out of everybody here, barring the new Pachy herd that arrived, that wooly mammoth and the wooly rhino, you're not too bothered with the conditions."

"Got that right," the young keeper smugly remarked."

"Before we move on from this subject," Hazel interjected. "There's something off about this. If it's the middle of the fall season, and it's November, then shouldn't it be colder right now? It feels like fifty degrees outside."

Daisy, despite having a bag muffling her voice and shivering, replied. "And getting colder by the minute..."

"For once, we agree on something," said the zoologist, who hugged his hands together before putting them in his pockets; an effort to get them warm. "It's odd, the temperature being the way it is now. Maybe it's because we're in a bit of a hot spell. It could be due to the world changing during the Cretaceous period."

"So are we going to have a warm winter?" the hopeful Ellis guessed. "Because that would make things easier."

The answer Chris gave downplayed said idea. "I wouldn't count on it. If there's something I do know about living in a northern state, it's that warm days like this could lead to really cold winters."

And it was his response that brought about more tension in the room. Ellis groaned in irritation, both on the status of the situation and that Daisy returned to freaking out more. Hazel, on the other hand, merely face palmed again.

"Just great," she said before bringing everyone's attention to her. It would seem that their stay in Temporary Park would worsen as the days rolled on. It was up to them and everyone else to deal with it. "As Ellis said, we're having a meeting tomorrow. I'm going to send a message to the staff tonight to meet at the Barrack lounge at 8:30 sharp."

"Chris," she called to him while glaring. The young man seemed unfazed by her gesture. "I want you to come up with ideas on how we can all cope with the conditions, especially the coming winter. This includes the Residents too."

Her gaze then fell on the engineer and the veterinarian at the desk. "Ellis, I want you to come up with those ideas to save on power here at the park. And Daisy, make sure that everyone here gets their share of blankets, coats, warmers, solar blankets, and anything to help them keep warm. Any patient that is sick needs to be given full priority."

"Okay," replied the younger Rey sibling.

"Alright…" the Grecian prodigy went next in a quick manner.

"Let's meet up at 8:00 so we can discuss our plans before the meeting. Agreed?"

She was met with a mix of agreements from them all. Somewhat satisfied with the end of the meeting, she made her way towards the door. Her hand on the doorknob, she glanced back at them. "Get some rest. We've got a long day tomorrow."

The workshop was met with a cool blast of wind as she opened the door. The chill lasted for seconds before it faded when the door slammed shut. The remaining members of the department heads remained in the shed for several more minutes, contemplating on the plans for tonight, as well as what will happen tomorrow.

And tomorrow would no doubt be stressful.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hazel situated herself on her simple, table-top desk. Her desk items were neatly piled on it, making it look a bit more "homey". It was 7:31 AM, at least, according to her phone.

Her room was dark. The window above her bed was covered by blinds. Even if they were lifted, she would see the coming dawn. The sun had not peeked over the horizon just yet, but the faintest light blues were starting to come out. The only light source that opposed the darkness in her room was the lone desk lamp she had at the top right of her desk.

She had just gotten out of bed, which was still messy after her tossing and turning over the night. Her garb consisted of a black polka dot pajama set, which kept her warm. She had a portable heater in her room that was quietly releasing warm air to combat the encroaching cold.

She was also the sole occupant of the room. With her mother and sister now in Temporary Park, they were in need of a place to stay. There was no way she was going to allow her mother to be within at least three feet of her after what happened yesterday. She had one of the other employees prepare a spare room for the two of them and provided them with the needed supplies to last the whole stay.

Hazel reached into the drawer at the side and pulled out a camcorder. It was a black Sony video camera with a retractable screen. Cameron, the Park's main cameraman, had a few spares in his workshop. Nigel allowed her and the rest of the new heads of the departments of Temporary Park to get their own. She was instructed to do a video log for every day, explaining the events that were occurring in Temporary Park over the course of three, correction, four months. Hazel didn't know why they wanted them to do that. Perhaps they wanted to have a recording of everything that was happening in Temporary Park for reference? Or it was for some kind of project.

Whatever it was, that was not the concern at the moment.

She worked out the mechanics on the camera until the screen she flipped to her showed her face. Her hair, although messy, was tied up in a disheveled ponytail. The girl took a deep breath and pressed the small button above the eye lens. A small text box with the "record" icon appeared at the bottom of the screen. The time next to it showed 7:33 AM.

Hazel took a deep breath and made herself look professional on the camera. "Day one of our time here at Temporary Park, and my time as park leader," she smiled slightly, though showing a hint of sarcasm. "I want to say that everything is going well, but I'd be lying if I did. Already, we've hit a few bumps on the road. Most of the Residents are uncomfortable with the cool temperatures, which is to be expected since we're practically in Alaska and most of them are from warmer environments. Hopefully, the small warming tents we've got will be put up soon for the Residents in their enclosures. We've already got those large tents up for the herds so they should be fine. The others, however, we're working on putting up smaller warming tents for them to help them cope."

She took in a deep breath and continued, knowing that her next topics would be the more morbid ones. "We've encountered another herd here. A bunch of Pachyrhinosaurus. The leaders engaged in battle against Aladar, Neera, and surprisingly, Nero. Thankfully, I was able to get to them in time and clear up the whole mess before it got worse. Turns out, this place is their Feeding Grounds and they were kicked out of their home by an army of tyrannosaurs. I don't know why tyrannosaurs would do that; it's not normal for a predator to over-exploit a resource unless they were pushed to do so. Maybe it's due to climate problems or changes in the land. I'm already familiar with the lifestyle predators go through; they aren't evil. They're just doing their best to survive, unless they had more…underhanded means like a few predators I ran into in the past. I can't vouch for the predators either, or even try to help resolve the issue because 1) it would make the 'truce' we have with this herd void, something neither of us would like, and 2) I don't know the other half of the story. These newcomers can't go to another place in the valley because the leaders claim this area is the only one that can support a herd of their size. More herds will be coming and will have their parts of the valley to use. But that's not the main issue."

"Nigel said that we would be taken to Temporary Park right after its construction, during the summer season. Due to some...mishap...we're in the middle of the fall season. That would explain the cool temperatures, the rolling clouds of fog, and the fact that it's dark outside. Not only that, but it seems that we'll be staying here for four months instead of three. We're going to take measures to deal with the new situation after today's meeting."

She rubbed her eyes with her hands to try to keep herself awake. Hazel cleared her throat to make her voice better. "I expected my time as leader to go off without a hitch. Then there was the part where my mother and sister got a bit too curious and decided to 'follow me' to the park," she narrated with displeasure. "From what I was told, they snuck into Nigel's jeep trunk while he and I were inside the hotel in Johannesburg gathering our bearings, which was how they got in. They ran into some Residents that scared them to death, Diablo being the one who started it. Espantos scared them too, unintentionally. I've done my best to explain to them the situation in a lighter perspective, but my mom is pretty adamant in wanting me to quit. I told her off and refused, of course. I would never leave my friends here, not in a million years."

Hazel face palmed. The thought of having to spend the next four months with her mother ruined a great start to her future. "I wish she would just understand that this is where I belong. Dad's death affected her so much that she's overprotective of me and my sister. How can she be if she barely contacted us? Now she and my sister are here, in Temporary Park. Stupid, they followed me through the portal after I thought I lost them."

"I've already had someone set up living quarters for them, with some spare changes of clothes and any necessary items. I need to convince them that what they're thinking is wrong. But...I'm not sure if I can with the new problems we've got. Maybe I'll try to have someone give them a tour, or try to have my friends talk to them."

She sighed wearily. "I'm excited to be the new leader. Thrilled, in fact. But with all of these problems coming, I'm not sure how much longer I can hold up. Any more of these issues and I just might..."

Hazel hesitated. Something in her mind came to light; something she thought she had forgotten. Violent winds of sand, almost choking, fearful cries of refugees retreating to safety, and a harsh lesson that she learned the hard way affected her with their nostalgia. It was a memory she brushed off as a result of her naivety, but the stress of the moment had caused it to resurface.

Guilt and trauma of the time raced through her mind. Her memories of a time of innocence lost returned.

"Just might crack…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Flashback…65 million years ago

Searing winds kissed her skin like a hot iron. Bright sunlight sought to blind her. Sweat leaked out all over her body in an effort to keep her cool. Her throat was parched, her mouth cried for the feel of water. The goggles that adorned her eyes protected her eyesight from the sun, along with any dust that flew into her eyes.

It had been 24 hours since Hazel first arrived in this desert wasteland from the African valley she called home. That African valley was a long way off in the 21st century. In the short amount of time since she arrived here, she nearly became a raptor pack's lunch, befriended a Pteranodon who was scouting around the area for places to rest or resources to use, found a herd that the flyer traveled with and was the girl's target for rescue, and survived a life-threatening interview to a couple of hard-knocked Iguanodons that knew only the bad side of life. Now, she was acting as one of the herd's scouts for the duration of their migration.

The 19 year old was not going to be in this job for very long. It was until the herd arrived at their Nesting Grounds, wherever that was. If their Nesting Grounds did survive, she was going to leave them alone for a year before returning to rescue them in time before the meteor struck. If it was not there, then she would rescue them regardless.

That was a bit of a ways off. Right now, her priority was to make sure the herd, the one she sought to save, got there safely. Of course, she needed to survive this desert too.

Most of the day had been spent on getting to know her new friends; Eema, Baylene, Url, and Flia. Eema was an old Styracosaurus who knew much about how things in the herd operated. She witnessed the reigns of three leaders the herd went through. The ceratopsian was also witness to the changing landscape, so she was aware of the many dangers and landmarks the herd went across. Eema was also the guardian of Url, an Ankylosaur in which Hazel had no knowledge of his exact species. He acted much like a dog, but was very friendly. Already, she was licked in the face four times, mostly because she spent time playing with him to keep his spirits up.

Then there was Baylene. Her existence was a conundrum to the young traveler. How a sauropod species from the Jurassic period survived up to the Late Cretaceous was mind-boggling. Hearing that she was the last of her kind was heart-wrenching too. For an elder that was the sole survivor of her species, Baylene was a tough old woman. She kept her head up and did her best to look at the brighter side of things. From what she was told, the Brachiosaurus joined the herd not too long before Hazel herself joined. Her sophisticated character was a surprise, but something that Hazel was fine with.

Finally, there was Flia. Hazel did not know too much about her past. Whenever she asked about her childhood, when she joined the herd, or the like, Flia would be quick on an answer before falling silent. The time traveler did not want to be rude so she stopped with the questions. Perhaps the migration was stressful and she needed to focus. Or there was something in her past that traumatized her. Whatever it was, Hazel respected her privacy. The Pteranodon did teach her the ways of the herd, or was gradually doing so. Hazel only learned a few during their little "crash courses".

The younglings were always watched over by the adults, even though Hazel knew that through much research in the past. The weaker individuals and the youngsters were all herded into the interior of the large group for protection. With some exceptions, individuals in the herd were mostly monogamous and mate for life, something that the girl found to be odd as most animals in the world, regardless of the time period, were not. It was not uncommon for herds in this land to have multiple species. And most importantly, the commands of the leader and his/her lieutenants were absolute. They were to be obeyed without question.

Being the herd's first human scout was exciting, but looking at the barren, stagnant landscape was boring. It was just rocks, rock formations, the occasional plateaus, a dead tree here and there, maybe some ravines that once had water, and the usual small predators that roamed about. There were at least two raptor packs nearby, but they were nothing the herd couldn't handle. Hazel shuddered at the sight of them. It was a good thing she was now under the herd's protection, otherwise she would have been an easy meal for them.

Scouting for possible resources and danger made her tired. So she began to tell her partner some jokes to pass the time. Unfortunately, the pterosaur had no knowledge of what human jokes were. First she started with simple puns she knew, which then turned to funny skits she remembered. It was difficult to help her understand due to the multiple human terminologies involved, but Hazel did her best.

"Knock knock," Hazel said, starting the first knock knock joke.

"What?" Flia glanced back at the purple tank top clad female, her face puzzled.

The girl sighed and laughed a bit. She neglected to mention how these jokes went. "This is the part where you say 'who's there?'"

"Why?"

"Just go with it."

"Okay, I'll play along. Who's there?" asked Flia.

"Goliath," Hazel simply answered.

"Goliath what?" the Pteranodon inquired about the strange name.

"Oh right," she smacked her forehead lightly, forgetting about those other details. "You're supposed to say 'Goliath who?'" It also did not help that no one in this time knew of the story of David and Goliath.

The crested one crooned with uncertainty. "Why? And what is with this 'knock knock' phrase?"

"It's not a phrase. It's a joke," Hazel started to explain. "Knock knock refers to someone knocking on something to get a person's attention. It's a little hard to explain. As for the 'name plus who' bit, that's the answer. Again, hard to explain."

Flia contemplated on her explanation before replying with the proper answer. "Goliath…who?"

"Go-liath down. You look tired," the human revealed. She lightly laughed at that to try to show the joke. It was not the best, but she hoped that her friend would at least get the idea. This was, after all, a joke she got from one of her favorite dinosaur series.

"Go-lia…oh!" the Pteranodon giggled. "Oh I get it!"

"Exactly. There's the joke."

"But what's a Goliath?" Flia added, puzzled at the name.

Hazel stopped herself. She cleared her throat and calmly told her the story she knew as a child. "He's someone from a story I knew when I was a kid. Goliath was a giant human. He was terrorizing a bunch of people; a big bully, if you would. It wasn't until someone named David managed to step up and defeat the guy. It's just a story, but the moral is there."

"Huh…interesting. You'll have to tell everyone else that story some time," the flyer suggested.

She then sighed. "I wish I could lie down right now, like you said in that joke. But we have this job to do first. Well...I don't lie down. I sleep standing up...kind of."

"Well I could kill for a day on my sleeping bag, along with a nice comfy- AAAHHH!"

A sudden gust of wind had caused the Pteranodon to shift erratically. The movement resulted in the human to lose her grip and fall off the side of the pterosaur. Hazel's stomach fell, her body succumbing to free-falling. Her hands grabbed nothing but air. Her form would soon meet the earth from an altitude of five hundred feet.

As Hazel fell, she could see Flia dive-bomb after her. Her wings were tucked against her body, giving her a boost in speed. It did not take very long for her to catch up to the free-falling human.

"GRAB MY BAG!" Hazel screamed, quickly turning her body around.

The flyer quickly complied and wrapped her talons around two of the straps on the bag. Hazel felt her body lurch up, the world around her slowed and straightened out. Her arms ached from the sudden movement, but she had little regard for her arm pain. Her hands were clutching onto the straps like glue. The world below her receded as she and her partner flew higher up.

"Oh God…that was close," she trembled, folding her legs up in fear.

"Hazel, are you okay?" Flia asked her.

"I think so. That sudden gust caught me off guard," the human chuckled sheepishly. "I really need to get used to this."

The pterosaur scoffed at the human's amusement. "What? Did you expect flying to be easy?"

"Uh yeah!" she retorted. "I thought it would be like riding a bike!"

And it was true. Not only was she focused on trying to find anything relevant in their scouting, she was getting used to the feel of flying on a pterosaur's back. There was the wind speed to consider, along with her partner's movements. Hazel sort of got the hang of it, except she did not expect any gusts of wind to hinder her. Holding her hands tightly around Flia's neck did tire her muscles. The heat did make her hands sweaty, so occasionally, she had to open her hands just to let them cool off.

There were risks to flying on a pterosaur. She hoped it would get easier with time. Now she knew to be more careful.

Flia eyed her at the curious word she brought up. "What's a bike?"

Hazel fell silent, knowing the mistake she made. Not wanting to delve deeper into the mechanics of her time, she changed the subject. "Never mind. See anything of interest?"

The Pteranodon did a quick scan of the area, only to shake her head when she found nothing. "Nope. Not a single speck of water or greenery. As usual."

The human was going to agree until she felt another gust from behind them. Flia had barely managed to get herself straightened out when the gust came; Hazel had to hang on tightly once more. Looking back, she wanted to know what was causing these turbulences. Her eyes widened when she found a series of brown clouds billowing up from behind.

The clouds seemed to touch the ground, creating what looking like giant wall. Dust and debris swelled like smoke clumps from dry ice.

The wind picked up again. Hazel's hair strands flew free in the swift breeze. The clouds she was seeing far exceeded the altitude they were in; probably up to the stratosphere as an exaggeration.

Hazel had never seen a sandstorm up close before. The only times when she saw one would be the few documentaries and pictures she had seen over the years. They can occur often in desert regions, so it was no surprise that there would be one here. The only problem was that she had not prepared for something like this.

"You may want to look again," she said, still looking back at the growing wall of sand. "What's that behind us?"

Flia eyed her human partner and followed her direction. Much to the girl's surprise, she seemingly shrugged it off. "Oh, those happen a lot around here. Those sorts of things never stopped us before; all we have to do is just keep our heads down and try not to breathe that stuff in. The unlucky few that don't do that, well..." she trailed off at the mention of those who did not survive such storms. "It does ruin our vision a little though. "

The tank top clad human gawked at such a response. This herd had gone through these things in the past? Kron would push the herd through these things all the time? The fact that none of them minded too much of the dangers of these storms were shocking. The leader had no regard for those that fell behind from these!?

Then, she thought of the modern day animals that live in desert regions. Camels had special eyelashes to keep the sand from their eyes, even the strong winds that are blown from sandstorms. Other desert animals would take cover by burrowing underground. Such animals were used to these sorts of conditions. They had to survive for many days, weeks, and months without water. They had to tread on the hot sands just to get to where they were going. Some animals had to store their resources in their bodies or underground to survive.

But the herd was not like those animals. None of them had those special humps like those camels to store water. Neither of them was adapted to living underground. Even if they could dig, the terrain here was too brittle to provide any needed resources, unless they did eat dry roots, but Hazel did not witness any of them doing that. They needed plenty of vegetation, fresh air, and most of all, water. From what Hazel knew of this herd, they spend much of their time in green pastures, mostly in lush valleys. This place was not for them.

Before she could think more on it, the gusts of wind brought her attention back to the growing crisis.

"Uh Flia?" Hazel brought up, still looking at the growing clouds. "That's a sandstorm."

"What's a sandstorm?" the pterosaur questioned the knowledgeable human.

"A sandstorm is kind of like a rainstorm except instead of water, it's a bunch of sand and dust. If anyone's not fully prepared, the storm can be fatal. Diseases and the risk of suffocation are possible in these sorts of things. So pretty much what this is."

"I had no idea about diseases, but I have witnessed those inexperienced in these storms die before. This one should be no different. Most of us are prepared for these things."

Just then, something bright and jagged illuminated one of the plumes. Hazel jerked in shock at the sudden flashes. Before she could dismiss that as a trick of the light, another flash illuminated one of the plumes off to the left of that part of the cloud. The fifty mile cloud flashed with an internal light show that could rival any ordinary thunderstorm.

Hazel had never seen a sandstorm like this, much less one with lightning. No documentary or pictures she had seen said anything about a desert sandstorm having electricity. Her limited knowledge on such things was a problem. What's more, if there was something she knew about lightning, it was anything that was in the air or on the ground without cover was in danger.

Worrying about their safety, Hazel warned the danger to the sky scout. "How about this? Did your sandstorms usually have lightning? I'm not sure if you're fully aware, but anything in the air while lightning is out can be fried to a crisp."

Flia looked back, taking another look at the storm. Her beak fell agape and her eyes filled with fear as she looked upon the growing harbinger behind them. "Oh no...I've never seen anything like it. We have to go back and warn the herd!"

"Flia, do you know of any place the herd can seek shelter?"

The Pteranodon shouted over the roaring winds. The human looked up at her after adjusting herself. "Hazel, I've been through this place so many times! There are some formations just a few ways from where we first left the herd! They're just like the one we were on when we first met!"

"Those are plateaus!" she deduced as best as she could over the winds. "My guess is the herd should be within their reach! The height and stability of those formations should be sufficient shelter against the storm! Now come on Flia! Fly like wind! Literally!"

"No need to tell me twice!"

Neither of them said more as they voiced their resolve. Together, they flew back towards the herd, which was in the northwest of where they were. Flia sped through the prehistoric sky, going as fast as her wings could take her. The weight of a human and her belongings weighed her down, but that did little to stop her from going. The pterosaur's nimble movements and her partner's trust had also allowed her to get Hazel situated back onto her back, just by swinging a bit to allow her to climb back on.

One good thing about the storm was those high winds blowing at them. They allowed the Pteranodon to gain enough speed to cover a vast distance. It was not very long before either of them spotted a line of dinosaurs traveling through the wasteland.

The herd had covered at least a few miles of distance the last they left them. They were going through small rock formations and hills. Sparsely spaced boulders were situated here and there. But they would do little to protect anyone from the incoming storm.

Flia did not lie when she said there were plateaus that could serve as shelter. About a mile ahead of them were two closely-knit plateaus that looked like they used to be one. A single gap in the middle revealed an opening that could only be an exit by walking in a narrow formation. The tops of the formations were flat, signaling no risk of falling rocks.

They were perfect for a shelter against a storm.

The bellows of the herd were frantic. Some individuals in the outer portions of the herd were fidgeting, running back and forth; no doubt after seeing the wall of death behind them. Soon, the rest of the herd was in a frenzy. The group stopped moving; moving onwards became overcome by the fear of the storm.

Hazel could clearly see two individuals that were a bit of a ways from the herd. Both of them were Iguanodons; one of them was hefty and brown like wet mud, the other was purple, darker than the shirt she wore. They turned around and skidded to a stop several feet before the frightened group. They let out bellows and commands that even she found to be hard to hear.

The two scouts sped up to the leader and his right-hand officer. They hovered for a moment before landing. The heads of the herd stopped at the sight of the large flyer that approached them. The human dismounted, finding herself face to face with two of the most intimidating creatures she had come across.

"Kron, we have to make for those rock formations now!" Flia shouted over the incoming storm. "There is a sandstorm coming!"

"What are you talking about? Sandstorm?" Bruton exclaimed, clueless as to what the scout was speaking of.

"These high winds are the precursor to it!" Hazel explained as best as she could. "If we don't evacuate now, the whole herd will suffocate to death or will get electrocuted!"

The Iguanodon alpha sneered at her, ignoring the warnings. To him, she was an ant to a tree. "Storms like this never stopped us in the past. We'll keep going!" he boomed.

"Kron, I know you've faced many sandstorms in the past, but I'm not sure if anyone can survive this!" she tried to reason. "This sandstorm has lightning! Anyone caught in this storm would either die from asphyxiation or get zapped by electricity!"

The arrogant leader huffed before letting out a frustrated growl. His steely blue eyes met her brown ones, like a killer would to its prey. "You are speaking in riddles that neither of us understand. And this storm means nothing to me. This desert is unforgiving, and those who cannot cope with its trials are not fit to survive. I thought you should know that by now."

Hazel stood firm despite the intimidation she was up against. Her astonishment at how stupid he was approaching this crisis turned into pure rage. "What so you're just going to ignore my warning? You're going to risk the herd's safety rather than listen to me?"

"Silence you insolent child!" he spat at her, making the human gasp and take a few steps back in fear. "You have no right to give me orders!"

The recovered human gritted her teeth and shouted her feelings. "I'm not trying to command you! I'm trying to help you! Look at the herd! They're freaking out!"

Looking back, the group saw the herd shifting in the group. Bellows of fright and the mass of pandemonium only increased as the clouds drew closer. Some of the members were so frightened that they were rushing about in all directions, only to return to the group when they saw the looming danger behind get closer. The lightning flashes caused the dinosaurs to yelp in surprise.

Kron and Bruton looked at each other, puzzlement coming to them. They were experienced in leading this herd. They had encountered sandstorms in the past. Yet, no one had been through a sandstorm like this. The human spoke the truth.

Despite the validity of the scouts' warnings, the alpha of the herd turned to her. Pure rage clouded his judgement. All he was seeing was a small creature trying to overtake his authority. "How dare to speak out against your superior!"

"Look around you!" the human waved her hands towards the storm coming and the panicked herd. "We're all in danger if we don't move it now!"

She then face palmed. "We don't have time for this…" her heart and feelings shown on her face as well as her voice. "If you're not going to get the herd moving, then I WILL!"

Then, to everyone's surprise, the young human bolted passed the large herbivores without regard to the rules of the hierarchy. Hazel sped up to the frightened herd as fast as her legs could take her. Before she could yell out her own command to the wall of Iguanodons, Pachyrhinosaurus, Styracosaurus, the scrambling Stygimoloch, Struthiomimus, and Microceratus that were doing their best to avoid getting trampled, and Parasaurolophus in front of her, she found herself being yanked off the ground.

A scream escaped her throat when she saw the herd speed by to the left. Dangling away from the dinosaurs she tried to save, she looked up to see who her captor was. Her eyes fell on a frantic Flia.

"Hazel, you foolish girl, what do you think you're doing!?" she demanded.

"I'm trying to save the herd! What do you think it is I'm doing?"

"Don't you realize what you've just done!?" the Pteranodon blurted out the error of the human.

"I don't care if I do get punished for this!" Hazel protested the horrible mark she made on her newfound duty. "The herd needs help and those two bastards weren't doing anything about it! Now are you going to help me get these guys to those plateaus or not!?"

Flia screamed in exasperation. There was a hierarchy in the herd, one that everyone needed to follow. Out of the many individuals that traveled in this group, there was one rule that they needed to keep in mind. Only the leader, or leaders if there was another they worked with, was allowed to give the orders. Only he or she could command the herd to move, stop, rest, or in more extreme cases, attack. Any lieutenants or scouts were subject to follow this rule too. No one was above the leader.

Yet, this human decided to go against that. Rather than doing so out of greed, she disobeyed her superior's authority for everyone else's benefit. She was putting everyone's safety before her own. The punishment of such behavior varied, but the worst kind came with a beating.

Flia knew all too well about that. The few times she questioned Kron's leadership in the past resulted in her getting beaten. She was lucky to survive at all.

Hazel was more fragile than she was. The human was smaller and lacked any way of defense. The little spike she carried with her was the only thing she had that provided some use, and perhaps that huge thing on her back could protect her. But even those were not enough to fend against two angry herd superiors.

The Pteranodon shook her head. This girl may be foolish, but she was doing so for the right reason. How could she go against such judgement like that?

Clutching the girl's back straps tightly, the flyer sped down to the frantic herd.

The sky above them had darkened. Already, the sand had reached them. The high winds blew at them all, threatening to blow everyone off their feet. Flia had to flap her wings vigorously just to keep herself hovering a good six feet above the herd. The lightning above them flashed like a furious light show. The chaos had increased in a matter of seconds among everyone.

"Everybody! Listen to me!" Hazel screamed, pointing towards the rock formations off to her left. No one paid her any mind.

"Hey!" she yelled again, but was ignored again.

Flia cawed, causing most of the herd members in the front to stop. Those behind them followed suit. All of them watched in confusion as the strange human and the scout that served them for years proclaimed their words of aid.

"This storm is fatal should we remain out here any longer!" she directed with her hands. The herd looked over to see two looming rock formations that seemed large enough to shield them from much of the sand. "There are a couple of plateaus nearby! They'll protect you from the storm! Get to them as quickly as you can! Help anyone who is slow, sick or injured to them! Stick together! Make sure that nobody gets left behind! Now let's go!"

No one in the herd objected to it. The dinosaurs hurried off towards the plateaus that the scouts directed them to. The scorching hot sands and the high winds burned at them, pushing them on like a supernatural slave driver. Hazel found herself unable to breathe properly and thus had Flia drop her off over at the plateaus.

The sands irritated her nose, thus making it hard for her to breathe. The goggles, however, protected her eyes from any irritation. It was thanks to them that she was able to see a bit more clearly, despite the limited visibility from all the dust. Her mouth, however, was dry and salty, a result of inhaling some sand. Hazel had to remove her sleeping bag and drape it over herself as a safety blanket against the winds, which flapped in the air like loose plastic. The thermal insulation inside made her feel hotter, an annoyance in the desert, but it was better than getting directly hit by the sands.

It was a hazy brown all around her. The rocks that lay still in the landscape were rolling away as if being kicked by an invisible force. Any formations around her now seemed to have blended in with the dust in the air.

Though she was wrapped up in that warm sleeping bag, the human could make out the giant forms of the herd passing into the gap between the plateaus in front of her. The screams they emitted were deafening. The herd had to organize themselves to go in a more streamline formation just to get through. Hazel had to help them by telling them not to push and shove each other. It also helped things move faster when she and Flia told them all to remain calm and to go in an orderly fashion.

As Hazel watched them go, she noticed the smaller herd individuals get shepherded along with the herd. Frightened younglings that were too scared to say anything were getting nudged along by their parents or guardians. Struthiomimus, Stygimolochs, and Microceratus all pensively followed the larger dinosaurs; some even huddled up to them to use their great girths as a form of protection from the windy sands. The plan was working; everyone was helping each other get inside per her instructions.

Relief overcame her when she finally came upon the last members of the herd. An elderly Brachiosaurus, with her neck craned over and gingerly squeezing into the narrow cavern, was the first to go in. Following her was a stout, grey, old Styracosaurus who was herding a spiky Ankylosaur in with her commands. Seeing her friends go in voided her worry on them.

Flia was the last to go in. But, Hazel remained outside. In the air, she heard a faint squealing a few ways off. Listening carefully, she found it to be someone in distress. The human wasted no time in finding out more about it and went into the storm, much to her friends' horror.

The winds batted against her makeshift flimsy shield. While her face was mostly covered, some bits of sand did get in. Hazel had to do her best to make sure no sand got into her nose. Her right hand had to grab the bottom part of the sleeping bag. Any creature that saw her would mistake her as some kind of armless monster roaming the desert.

As she ventured on, the squealing got fainter. The lightning above her got wilder by the minute. The streaks of light flashed in a furious display. Any longer out here and she could be zapped. The human's resolve was strong; she was not leaving until she found whoever was lost.

Hazel had to call out to the voice, tell them that she was coming to get them. The distressed one responded, shouting louder so that she could find them. Her wandering had led her to a sandy-colored female Iguanodon youngling. Hazel grabbed her in her arms, covered her with the sleeping bag, and trudged her way back to the plateaus.

Getting the youngling was a good idea in the first place. But playing the hero did have its problems. For one thing, this child weighed heavier than she expected. Her weighed slowed her movements significantly. Then, there was the problem of finding her way back. The sandy winds had covered her tracks, erasing any trace of the trail she left when going to search for the youngling.

Hazel was about to just hunker down on the spot and wait out the storm. But she did not give up then. She called out for her friends, saying she found who she was looking for, but was lost. Her calls were answered when Flia responded. Hazel followed her friends' voice. The lightning crackled above, making the girl jump with each moment.

Her pace quickened to a run. Her sleeping bag nearly flew off her. Her grip on the youngling was slipping. Hazel had to stop to readjust herself before continuing her retreat.

Finally, she came upon the plateaus. Waiting at the entrance was the Pteranodon scout. Hazel rushed into the rock formation gap without pause. She knelt against the wall, covering her whole body with the sleeping bag. Behind her, she could feel the shuffling of feet and another's body warmth. She was sweating, but she did not care. All that mattered was waiting out the storm.

Seconds turned into minutes. The storm raged on above their heads. The wind howled above the stones, making an uncomfortable whistling sound. Murmurs of everyone in the herd echoed throughout the rock formation. The lightning flashes illuminated the darkened gap with its booming brilliance. Yelps from the younglings sounded off from the front, only to be quieted down by the adults. Everyone waited as the storm passed over them, hoping that the disaster would end.

Only when the howling winds and the lights diminished did a sense of calm return. The skies brightened up again, revealing the barren desert once more.

When Hazel uncovered herself and the whimpering youngling, she took in the aftermath of the storm. Her friends were huddled around the opening to the outside. Shielding her with her wings was Flia, who relaxed as soon as she saw that everything had calmed down. The herd stirred, but none of them dared to move from the cavern.

Looking about, she soon came across a distressed slender, brown and grey colored female Iguanodon rush up to her. Hazel was about to question her approach when the youngling in her arms rushed up to her. The adult and the child rubbed their snouts affectionately. The female held a hoof around the youngling, holding her close. It was then that Hazel deduced this to be the child's mother. The adult thanked her for saving her daughter before departing.

The human felt good about this venture. The herd was in big trouble, but with the help of Flia, the herd was saved.

Hazel let her bag and sleeping bag fall, both of which collided with the ground with a clump. She then turned around to look upon her friends. Baylene had been lying down, her body curled around Eema and Url, who were looking upon the sandy covered rocks outside.

"Everyone okay?" she asked them all.

Baylene craned her neck over to the human and Pteranodon standing before them. "My face feels like it is itching all over," she sneezed loudly before sniffling, "and my nose feels clogged. But I am adequate."

Eema groaned and turned over. "I am really too old for this…Url seems fine though."

Said Ankylosaur responded in grunts and snorts. Hazel giggled when she watched the armored dinosaur circle around; he was indeed like a giant puppy. Url's gratitude was solidified when his huge tongue lolled out and licked her face. The human sputtered out the disgusting liquid, not to mention she now smelled like him a little. A big disgusted, but she accepted his gratitude. At least her forehead no longer felt hot.

"Thank goodness we got here in time" Flia said, stretching her wings before letting them rest on the ground. "Any longer out there and we would have-"

"We would have been fried by the lightning or asphyxiated by the sand," she finished and patted the herbivore on the head before turning her attention to everyone else. The Ankylosaur huddled up to Eema and lay down for a rest.

The Pteranodon became puzzled by the human's vocabulary once more. "I have no idea what those mean, but yes."

"Seriously Hazel, did you really have to pull that stunt?" the flyer started to scold at the girl, much to her annoyance and their friends' surprise. "I understand you cared about everyone, but did you even think about the consequences of disobeying orders?"

"What orders?" Hazel put a hand on her hip, her face taking on a defensive fashion. "I was not told to not help the herd. Nobody told me to stay put. Those two lugs weren't doing anything about the situation."

"But what about how Kron would react? I saved you just in time before he could really approach you. He won't be pleased about this, even though you did a noble act."

The human face palmed again. "Son of a…you know what, he's just going to have to suck it up. Everyone's safe, and he should be thankful for it."

"Human!"

Both scouts snapped their heads over in the other direction of the cavern. Both of them were shocked to see the herd members before them skirting away on both side. They parted path, revealing one of the individuals neither of them wanted to meet today.

Bruton was always in a bad mood. That much Hazel knew. Her first meeting with him involved him doing some name calling and underestimating her abilities to survive. At this moment, he was outright pissed. His flat teeth were clenched together and his eyes were narrowed. His lumbering gait ended in stomps; then again, it could be Hazel's imagination.

Hazel had never seen Bruton like this, but she did not like it. She braced herself when he stopped just a few feet from them.

"Kron wants to see you," he scowled at her.

The lieutenant made a quick turn, swishing his tail in the air. If anything was in his way right now, they would have gotten a rude slap. Before he walked on, he turned back to look at Flia.

"You too, birdbrain," he called out to her before marching away.

The two of them shared a nervous glance. They were really in for it now. Neither of them argued as they followed Bruton to the front of the herd.

The cavern was pretty narrow, but the herd made do with it. Each of them had to watch where they stepped so as to make sure none of them stepped on any of the smaller herd members or bumped into anyone else, preferably not towards any horns or spikes. As they walked on, they noticed they were getting tentative glances from each of the individuals. Some of which were indifferent or nervous due to Bruton's presence, others showed hints of gratitude for helping to get everyone to safety in time.

Hazel felt a bit more confident with the reactions she was getting. She heard soft-spoken "thank yous" and saw a few give her smiles. She hoped that Kron would at least cut her some slack for getting everyone out in one piece.

The human eventually discovered that Bruton was leading them to the outside of the cavern. The light at the end of the opening was getting closer and closer by the minute. She deduced that the alpha may be outside, perhaps wanting to have a private conversation with the two of them. It was unprecedented, but it did somehow make sense if it were meant for their ears only.

Before they were outside, they passed by Neera. Hazel and Flia silently watched her, and she in turn did the same. She shot them a small smile, which then turned into a worried frown. The Asian tensed up at this; if Neera was this worried then the meeting may not go in their favor.

She hoped everything was going to be okay.

Once outside, they were greeted by the blinding desert sun. Bruton had retreated back into the cavern, back to the herd. It was clear that his job at the moment was to escort them outside. The claustrophobic cavern walls gave way into the outside wasteland. Small rock formations dotted the landscape, with a few rocky hills here and there. But the sandstorm left its mark as most of the land was covered in sand. It was like the Sahara desert had decided to pay a little visit before leaving.

Standing before them was the herd leader, who turned around at the sound of their approach. His hard blue eyes and cold gaze sent shivers down the human's spine. He approached the two of them and stopped a mere four feet from them. Hazel froze, riddled with intimidation when he began to scold at them.

"I don't think I need to say what it is you have done," he said darkly.

The human recovered, becoming defensive in her belief of the situation. "Excuse me? What I have done?" she scoffed. "I HELPED the herd get to safety! If it weren't for me and Flia, we'd all be gasping for air, buried alive, or struck by lightning!"

"You clearly went out of your own jurisdiction and gave out orders when you weren't supposed to!" he stomped a hoof, shaking the earth with his rage.

Hazel angrily protested. Her arms waved at him with each sentence describing his idiocy. "And you're mad at me for that? You were standing there, doing nothing while the whole herd was freaking out about the harbinger of death hovering above their heads. So yes, I took it upon myself to get everyone moving. You should be grateful that I did you a favor!"

"A favor?" he leaned closer to her until he was at eye level. Having the strict leader up at her face like this made her want to run. He could smash her at a moment's notice or swipe her away, Death was just a few inches away. Her hand fell for the dagger at her side, ready to stab him should he decide to go the violent route.

"Last I checked...YOU WERE NOT THE LEADER OF THE HERD!" he boomed. The girl shut her eyes, not wanting to meet those eyes again. She hissed under her breath, her body trembled at the scolding on steroids from a 3 ton tyrant. "I MAKE the orders! I TELL them to move along! I DECIDE what is right and what is wrong!"

As much as she wanted to retort, she feared that by doing so would result in her getting hurt…or worse. Hazel stayed silent. To her, it was probably the smartest thing to do at the moment. Saying her peace made him angry enough as it is.

Hearing him walk passed her, she opened her eyes and found him up front with Flia. Unlike Hazel, she did not flinch at the sight of him, but she was shamefaced all the same.

"You were supposed to teach her everything about our ways!" he spat.

"I am sir!" she tried. "Please, she's just a child! I am teaching her at a comfortable pace for her so she could understand-"

"Well she needs to understand quickly!" he interrupted. Kron shot a demeaning look at the human once more. His voice mellowed out, but Hazel could still feel the anger in each word. "I do not know what kind of world you came from, but know this. Everything is not all perfect and fair. No one gets the things they want and nothing goes their way. Your job is to scout around, searching for anything beneficial for the herd, or detrimental to avoid. You are not the herd's protector, guide, nor its leader. I am your superior, and you are below me."

The purple alpha snorted unceremoniously at her. His hot breath met her like the hot sands of the storm. Had it not been for her goggles, she would have had to wipe more of it from her face. Kron stomped passed them after giving his rude regards.

Before either of them could breathe a sigh of relief from his passing, he turned back to them. He gave the human what seemed to be a warning.

"I am only showing you leniency only because of your naivety. The next time you speak out against my leadership or do things without my consent, you will be banished from the herd."

Hazel said nothing as she watched her superior walk off. The whole conversation recapped in her mind like a record. She had just got yelled at…for helping everyone. Why? She was only doing the right thing. That asshole and his associate weren't doing anything back then. They were most likely going to have the herd keep going with the storm coming. And Flia said it herself; there were a few individuals who would not survive a sandstorm unless they knew what to do. There were no casualties today.

And yet she and Flia still got the short end of the stick.

Hazel slumped onto the ground, still shocked by the treatment she got. Flia stayed with her, consoling her and apologizing for her outbursts earlier. They were lucky; Kron had not done any physical harm on them for questioning his leadership. To think that he was secretly grateful of their endeavor was a longshot. Neither of them thought more on it as they wanted to forget the whole thing.

The two of them remained outside to watch the desert landscape, ignoring the heat that was setting on them. The trauma of the day desensitized them to everything else. It was only after some time did the two of them manage to find the courage to reunite with the herd. To Hazel, she learned a harsh lesson the hard way.

End Flashback…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hazel blinked. Her senses returned to the present. It took her a moment to realize that she had zoned off, thinking about a memory she thought she forgot. That one memory of her doing what she thought was right but at the expense of disobeying regulations was harsh. Hazel learned that the hard way. Nigel would probably give her a serious talk, but he would never act like Kron did. She was lucky; he was being lenient with her.

That day…it was soon after she became a scout. It happened a few days before she first met Aladar and the lemur family…and before she made her first crossing against the scorching dunes of that desert.

The girl made a small gasp as she stared back at the screen. About five minutes had gone by since she last said anything. She wanted to smack herself for this little embarrassment; the camera had caught her reminiscing about the past when there was no need to!

Hazel shook her head, shoving that memory to the recesses of her mind. The stress of the passed day had caused it to resurface. Her being the leader had brought about hardships she needed to overcome. The woman brushed off that memory at the behest of Flia's advice; she was new and didn't know everything. She just never thought it would come back to haunt her.

"I'm...sorry. I was...I was deep in thought there," she spoke to the camera. "I was just remembering the time when I spoke out against Kron, my former superior of the herd, if you would. I'd say it was about two years ago, on my first solo adventure. Nigel sent me back to try and rescue a herd of dinosaurs to prove his theory that there were two meteor strikes 65 million years ago, and that dinosaurs survived the first one. It was also the first time I used his prototype communicator to speak to prehistoric creatures. I'll spare you the details on my first day, but I became the scout of the herd that would one day be led by Aladar and Neera. I...made some mistakes during my first couple days. One of which was me getting the herd to safety from a sandstorm that had lightning. I helped save them all by getting them in between a couple of plateaus. Kron hated it, saying that I usurped his position there. I was lucky he didn't kill me for that. He was being lenient."

She took another breath before continuing her explanation. "Kron was facing hard times; seeing much death and making hard decisions plus being in a harsh landscape right after a meteor struck, made him into a cruel, cold tyrant. No one likes to talk about it. He's a topic that's best kept under wraps. I'm not going to end up like him."

Hazel shook her head, her features took on confidence. The former leader of the herd had his faults. His arrogance was one of them. And it was his arrogance that led to his downfall. "I'm not like Kron. He let his arrogance and short-mindedness get the best of him. Right now, we're in a similar situation with being in a land that's against us. Everyone in the park is practically stranded in a place where we thought we were safe. We have to survive an incoming winter with whatever we've got. We can make it out of this. We just need to do things right. We've got no room for mistakes."

She looked at the time again. The camera read 7:45 AM. There was 15 minutes until the meeting with the rest of the heads of the departments about their ideas on coping with the coming winter. And after that was the staff meeting.

Hazel sighed. She needed to get ready. "I'd better get going. The meeting is about to start soon."

The head of Temporary Park quickly cut the recording. This was followed by her shutting the camera off.

She then got into her change of clothes; the sweater vest, blue long sleeve shirt, and jeggings. In just a minute or so, she had fixed her hair up into that up do with the butterfly claw clip she had. As soon as she put her black leather boots on and grabbed her phone, she rushed out of the room.

In her mind, she hoped that these four months would not be as bad as everyone was expecting them to be.

 _ **Darksage: Well, that was interesting! Looks like we got a bit more backstory here, eh? Nice going Ellis! You screwed everything up!**_

 _ **Marc: Take it easy, Sage! It was an honest mistake on his part.**_

 _ **Darksage: He still screwed up! Now everyone is in this situation.**_

 _ **Marc: Hazel and the rest of the department heads better have some kind of a solution for this.**_

 _ **Darksage: Okay so a couple of things. Sandstorms with lightning? They're a real thing, but they don't occur often. Also, the flashback in this chapter occurred after Hazel got inducted into the herd and before Aladar and his family were included/before they crossed the desert. A lot has happened in DaPPA that Hazel buried in the recesses of her memory.**_

 _ **Marc: Finally, to answer one reader's question, this story will be a bit long due to the amount of drama that will take place. There are a lot of conflicts that will occur and a lot of lessons to be learned.**_

 _ **Darksage: Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter! We hope you enjoyed this one :)**_


	15. New Adaptations

Barrack Lounge...

8:30 AM

True to the text message Hazel sent (thanks to the local hotspot that the park had), every single employee came to the Barracks for the impromptu meeting. Temporary Park did not have an Employee Center where the staff members could conduct conference meetings. Building one would only take up space and there was no need for one. Now, however, the best place the heads of the departments could utilize would be the Barracks lounge.

Everyone was in a mix of reactions. Some of the employees that were present for yesterday's debacle were telling the less-informed ones the story. Those who were just getting the news reacted badly. Concerned conversations billowed about. Others were trying to reassure the frightened ones that they were going to be okay. Then there were the few that remained quiet, only because they were silently trying to cope with the crisis.

Out of all of the places in Temporary Park, the Barracks lounge was perhaps the most comfortable. It was easy access too; the exit to the outside was in the breezeway next door. The carpet was cut pile, being in the pattern of white diamonds in an emerald green background. There were a couple of two-person sofas situated in the room on all sides and two large sofas. There were a couple of round tables that would be situated around the room, but they were removed for the sake of the morning's meeting. On the far left was a brick mantle that loomed over a fire pit, which would soon be used to warm countless passersby as soon as the weather got colder. The walls were a simple white, but they were insulated.

Right now, the lounge wasn't exactly homey. A platform stage was situated in the very middle of the room. Surrounding it in a semicircle were a hundred foldable chairs. Atop the platform was an upright screen, which would present the slideshow that would be shown from a projector right in front of the platform on a cart. A microphone with a stand was also set up, and around the room were the speakers needed to go along with it. It was more like a makeshift conference room now, minus the long table meant to hold the executives. All of this was prepared the night before.

Hazel had already conducted the short meeting with the heads of the department, which ended a few minutes before. Everyone was sleepy, however, considering the situation and that work for the day would start soon, the timing was necessary. The meeting consisted of what ideas they were going to present and the creation of the quick slideshow. Ellis was pretty efficient on creating powerpoints, when he wasn't lazy. The plan was that each one of the staff heads, including Hazel, would discuss topics that referred to what the whole park was going to do in preparation and during the winter season. Ellis provided a clicker to control the slideshow, which would allow each of the presenters to easily control the presentation.

While everyone was called to the meeting, two visitors in the audience decided to join in. Their arrival was unexpected, something that put the young leader off guard. Hazel knew that her sister was present yesterday when the sun set. She did see her after all. The woman inferred she must have told their mother about it. Hazel did not want to think about how her mother reacted to the news of the sun setting, and that they were in the fall season.

One quick glance at them and she saw her sister sitting there quietly while trying to be "invisible" to the rest of the employees. Her mother made eye contact with her, which then led her to look away; a frown remained plastered on her face. She was not pleased with the problem they were now in, added to the fact that she was now trapped in the distant past with hundreds of prehistoric Residents, not counting the scores of native wildlife outside the park.

Their attire was different as well. Hanna was now wearing a light pink V-neck sweater and denim skinny jeans. Her sneakers from before were now replaced by black and brown leather boots. Her long hair remained in a braid that hung over her right shoulder.

Her mother dropped her classy attire and went for a casual look. Now she wore a light green sweatshirt with what appeared to be the Jurassic Park logo at the front. Hazel wanted to laugh at how her mother ironically dressed. Here she was, frightened by all of the Residents for seeming like they would eat her and she was wearing something that reminded everyone of what they were looking after. Why did she choose that sweatshirt? There were lots of choices she could have gone for at the storage warehouse. Maybe this was just randomly given to her by the person she assigned to provide them essentials? Not only that, but her mother was also wearing black exercise pants with white stripes on the sides. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail with those coil hairbands; she was always perfect about her hair. It looked like she was going out for a jog but could not look her best due to being rushed.

Hazel did not waste any more time dawdling with whom arrived for the meeting. It was about start. She saw the rest of the staff heads take their seats at the front, their places were further ahead of everyone else to show their status. The only person that sat close to the projector with his laptop on his lap was Ellis. Someone needed to be there in case the equipment went wrong.

She got herself onto the landing, retrieved the microphone from the stand, turned it on, and spoke.

"Good morning, everyone," she said. The audience quickly quieted down. If she looked behind her, she would see that the screen now showed the first slide of the powerpoint. The title showed Emergency Park Meeting. "Thank you all for coming. Now, as most of you are probably aware, I wouldn't have called you all here unless the situation was dire. We are, in fact, facing a predicament. A number of you weren't present for yesterday's 'events' so I'll give you the rundown."

Hazel took a deep breath to ready herself for her explanation. She calmed her insides from joining the worried crowd. "Yesterday afternoon, this valley was visited by a herd of _Pachyrhinosaurus_. All of them were not pleased to see that this part of the valley was already occupied. They claimed this land as theirs as they always migrate to it every year. Neither of us have anywhere else to go due to our time displacement. Naturally, a scuffle between a few of our friends and their leaders took place. Thankfully, the fight was stopped before it escalated. However, shortly after, we made a striking revelation. During the summer season, Alaska would usually have daylight 24/7. That's not the case right now. The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ herd usually migrates here for the duration of the fall and winter seasons."

The audience sounded off in worried whispers. Hazel could not make out what they were talking about, but one of them mentioned that the situation was bad. Over at the front, she also noticed Ellis was trying not to make eye contact with anyone. His guilt about his little mistake was quite revealing, though he was doing his best to shadow it.

"Upon further investigation," Hazel prepared for what was to come. "It's been discovered that we have actually been transported to Temporary Park in the fall season."

"How did that happen?" one employee went.

"Did Nigel deliberately send us to this time?" another accused the Prehistoric Park leader.

"Please tell me you're joking," a woman whined.

"I thought the machines in the park were flawless! Someone must have tampered with the Time Poles!" an angry employee exploded.

Hazel raised her hand to calm the outbursts. "Settle down," she told them, which they obeyed. Her eyes once again fell on Ellis. Her pissed gaze was fixed on him, but she proceeded to not pick him out. "The coordinates to Temporary Park were mistakenly transposed. What's more is that rather than having our stay in this time be 3 months, the transposed information has changed it to 4 months. It is currently November 16."

The woman nearly jumped at the outrage that erupted from her audience. Some people stood up and shouted their opinions on the subject. Others were freaking out in their seats. Hands waved around or went around their bodies. Then there were the few that were too shocked by the news to even say anything.

"So we're going to be stuck here during the winter!?" went an employee with a short, brown Mohawk.

"We're all going to freeze!" screamed a woman who looked to be in her late 20s.

"You've got to be kidding me! Where's the dick that caused this mess!?" demanded an employee with long blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail.

"Alright that's enough!" Hazel ordered. Her outburst caused the whole audience to quiet down. They all took their seats as she continued her tirade. "Blaming the person who put us here isn't the answer. Finding out who did it isn't important either. Everyone makes mistakes; not all of us are perfect. I know how you all feel, but getting revenge on whoever did this will do nothing but cause more chaos. No good can come out of it. I don't want anyone to start a witch hunt on this. It's a waste of time and not to everyone's best interest. The only thing that matters now is how we're going to deal with the situation. Now, myself along with the other heads of the departments have come up with solutions as to how we can adapt to our time here."

She dug into her pocket and pulled out a small remote control. She pressed the green arrow in the middle of the remote. This caused the slide on the screen to change. Rather than show a blank white screen with the title letters in red, it now showed a slide with silver borders and little clip arts of gears. The title read "Power Conservation".

"First thing's first," she glanced back at the audience. "Our head of the engineering department wants to present his solutions in terms of energy."

Ellis stood up and walked around the propped projector and the numerous wires that were attached to it. Once he got to the landing, Hazel handed him the microwave as well as the clicker. The young woman took her place at the empty seat that was at the right portion of the stage. Rather than sit with the rest of the heads of the departments, she chose to sit alone. Her reason was ease of access to the stage, but in reality, she did not want to sit next to Chris. Her argument with him ran fresh in her mind. She would rather not mess with him today.

The engineer cleared his throat and spoke in his most confident voice. "Hey guys. Ellis here. How are you guys doing?" he asked to try to get everyone out of the negative mood. Nobody answered that.

"This has been an interesting morning, right?"

Still no answer came from them.

"I know outside, it's a bit nippy," he continued his futile attempt. "But hey, at least we've got another way to keep our drinks cold, right?"

This time, he did get an answer. Unfortunately, it was just someone coughing.

Ellis made a disappointed whistle. So much for trying to start off in a lighter mood. "Wow...tough crowd. Okay, let's get this going."

When he pointed the clicker at the screen, the first point on the slide went up. Each slide was going to list down specific sub-topics that each of the heads were going to talk about. One slide per presentation was going to last at most about 5 minutes; maybe 10 if it was an important discussion. For Ellis, his first point he needed to touch up on was "Park's power was meant to be entirely solar", which slid up to the top of the screen. A picture of a solar panel came up beside the bullet point.

"Now we were all supposed to have been taken to Temporary Park in the summer," he introduced the topic and gazed back at the audience. "Most of the buildings here as well as other parts of the sanctuary have solar panels. If it were summer, then we would have been running on solar energy the whole time we're here. Right now, that's not the case. Drawing in solar power will gradually diminish as we approach the winter season. As a rough estimation, with how we're using the power now, we'll only last with the stored energy we've got for the next few weeks. Unless we've got some fans of Survivorman or Man vs Wild out there, or just know how to live in the final frontier, none of us will survive that well out in the cold."

"To make sure our power lasts for the whole four months, we're going to have to shut down certain parts of the park."

The Filipino pressed his clicker again to reveal the next couple of bullet points, which were smaller than the main topic and were indented to the right. The first one was slowly revealed while the other two remained blank.

"First, the White Noise Cannons. Those are our first line of defense against invading wildlife. They weren't exactly turned on yesterday as they weren't really prepared yet. But now with us wanting to conserve power, we're going to have to make a change on that. From now until we get back, which is still going to be 2 years on the other side, the White Noise Cannons will remain off. The only time they'll be on is if we're under attack. We'll have to strengthen our borders too, maybe add some spikes along the walls. Just in case."

As expected from the department heads, the audience sounded off in worried whispers. None of them reacted to them, as they remained quiet. The White Noise Cannons were their first line of defense.

Ellis introduced the next topic, which was minor compared to the first one.

"Next is refrigeration. We'll keep it on until it starts to get really cold outside. By then, we won't need to rely on power to keep our colder resources, well, cold. When the time comes, we'll take all of the cold food and store them outside in coolers. Just be careful with your favorite drinks. You may have to thaw them out if you want to get them. Now as for other sources like light, heat, and water, best to conserve those too. Though the water we just get from the river nearby, but better to be safe than sorry."

"Speaking of heat," he continued while keeping his attention on the audience. "We're going to need to conserve that for our own personal use. Certain rooms in the barracks, as well as this bistro and the infirmary will have running heaters. As a result, we're going to have to start bunking together in rooms."

All of the employees groaned. Some of them protested against the announcement that everyone was going to have to share their rooms with more people. Each of the rooms in the park were designed for two to three people. A couple of the rooms were made for four people. With the situation of preserving energy, everyone was going to have to consolidate space. Everyone wanted to stay with people they were comfortable with. There was going to be some social tension, something that they're going to have to overcome.

"I know most of us like our space, but we got to do this if we are to cope with the season," Ellis told everyone.

"What about the Resident enclosures?" one employee voiced. "Like the ones in their own houses. Are we going to shut off the heaters there?"

"Yeah! They won't survive the cold! They'll die!" another protested.

"I'm getting to that!" he suddenly rebuked. He cleared his throat and fixed his posture. "Now, the Residents who have their own personal indoor enclosures will still have their resources. The power in their habitats will remain operational during our time here. That goes for our giant creepy crawly buddies in the Bug House too."

"Now it's a different story for the Residents outside," he pressed the clicker. The final topic came up, revealing "Resident Enclosures". A picture of a sleeping Matilda against the fence came up. It was a cloudy day in that picture. When it was taken was not important. What was important was that the rex was in the best position to show off the shimmering ring of metal on her leg. "They will still have their warming tents, but to conserve on power, we're going to have to shut down their Perimeter Collars, thus allowing them to roam free. And yes, this includes the carnivores."

The audience once again went up in an uproar. Hazel cringed at how badly they were reacting. When she first heard of this idea, she was a little against it, but being in the park for so long, going through all of the events that happened in the past as well as getting to know the Residents, she had to go along with the idea. Sure there were the little "obstacles" they'll have to deal with, like some certain carnivores that when released may cause problems, but with the weather right now, everyone needs to cooperate. She just hoped that Ellis' idea would not be as bad as everyone was making it out to be.

"Are you crazy!?" a female employee with blonde pigtails on the very right shouted. "You're going to let all of the carnivores out!?"

"Hey come on. We've gotten used to them," Ellis tried to reason. "And from what I was told during Christmas break, everyone got along swimmingly. No one got hurt. We're all friends here."

"Yeah Tina," a worker in the very back, a young man in his thirties, argued against her. "Don't you remember?"

"You dunce!" another rebuked his claim. "She was gone for two weeks, remember?"

"Oh right," said the one in the back. "Yeah we let the carnivores out for a bit. Don't worry, no one got hurt. Not to mention the whole week was a party!"

The one on the stage couldn't help but relish on that comment. "God I wish I was there. Anyway, moving on. We're going to allow the carnivores to roam around, so long as they're under supervision. Rascal will need constant supervision; need to make sure that guy doesn't cause any trouble. This also goes for those Therizinosaur guys. They may not be carnivores, but if threatened, they can go off the handle. Each carnivore will have a couple of keepers with them, and maybe one or two Residents if they're willing to work with us. It's to make sure none of them cause any trouble."

Tina scoffed. "And if they do?"

"We'll keep them segregated in their enclosures with their Perimeter Collars on, at least until they learn to behave."

It was at that moment that a certain 17-year-old in the back chose to speak up. She rose up from her chair and raised her hand. Everyone in the audience turned to look at the girl who stood out in the group. Hazel, like the rest of the heads of the departments, was quite surprised to see her sister stand out. And though she could not see her, her mother was quite flabbergasted at how her youngest was acting.

"What about that horned carnivore?" Hanna asked with trepidation. "Diablo, was it?"

The nervous employees whispered among themselves. No doubt they feared how one of the most violent Residents in their park would be like when he got his freedom. Transferring him from Prehistoric Park to here was nerve-wracking after all. They needed the assistance of three other carnivores to keep him in check.

"He'll...have a ton of supervision," Ellis replied reassuringly. "We'll keep a close watch on him."

Hanna frowned. Her uneasiness showed on her face, along with those who agreed with her. Hazel knew this was going to happen. She got up from her seat and proceeded up on the stage. Quickly asking for the microphone from Ellis, she made her speech that moved nearly everyone in the room.

"Need I remind you all of what has happened in Prehistoric Park over the past two years?" she pointed out, causing people to look shamefaced. "The Residents here have made great strides with getting to know each other. We've worked to help bring down the predator/prey boundary, at least in terms of everyone here in the park. Everyone understands their needs, and everyone understands who is friend and who is foe. If we learned anything from the past two years, it's that these carnivores are capable of getting along with everyone. Yes, they know their bodily needs. They can't ignore their constant need for meat. None of them can help it. But they have friends now; us and everyone else to remind them who they can trust. We're going to have to trust them to not attack us."

It was Hazel's reminder that calmed the mass. They talked amongst themselves, saying about how they had forgotten the silent rebellion against instincts that the Residents were going through. The young leader had a point; though the carnivorous Residents knew their bodily needs and the herbivorous knew of their natural fear of creatures that could rend their flesh, they had been getting closer and closer to each other on a level of understanding. Events that transpired, like the park's second and third breakouts, the Christmas party of months prior, and just being around them long enough led to everyone becoming much more than allies. The park did not plan this, as before there was no way to know how to bring down the wall.

With Hazel's arrival and the invention of the Communicators, relations among the Residents improved. The Park was headed to a new era of peace. It was a gradual one, but it was one that everyone needed to contribute in.

The young leader gave the engineer the microphone. One quick nod at him and she proceeded to return to her seat. Ellis merely gave her a quick two-fingered salute before returning his attention to the audience.

"Anyway, under our supervision, the carnivores are allowed to roam free. Once we get things ready, we'll let them know the news. Plus, they'll only keep their freedom so long as they don't hurt anyone in the park. They'll want to go outside the park and hunt, so those of us who will supervise them will have to follow. I know it's more work, but it's to make sure things go smoothly. Not to mention it will keep them sated."

"Are you kidding?" one of the employees complained. "You actually want us to follow them? We're going to die out there!"

"Not if you've got some added protection with you," Ellis told that person. "But more on that later."

He pressed the button. The screen changed to a snowy landscape in a valley. Pine trees dotted the hills and the sky showed an aurora borealis. The title now said "Coping with the Weather".

"Now, onto the next topic, which will be hosted by our head keeper, Chris Sinclair," he gestured to the now approaching head keeper.

The youngest Rey gave the department head the microphone as well as the clickers. Neither of them said a word as they took their places in the room; Ellis being his seat, which was by the laptop and Daisy, and Chris on the stage. Unlike the engineer, the keeper was more serious in his introduction.

"Morning," he simply said to the audience. "So we're all living in a pretty cold environment where the weather can seem unpredictable at times. Most of you probably have not lived in a cold place before, or maybe some of you have."

Chris started to walk up to the right side of the stage, while keeping his gaze on everyone else. "I've lived in Seattle, Washington, so if there's something I do know about my home and this part of Alaska, it's that the weather's pretty similar."

He pressed the clicker. Up came the first bullet to the left part of the slide; "Warm spells and cold evenings".

"As the note shows, there will be days that will be fairly warm. We'll be experiencing fairly warm days, like 50s or so. Don't be fooled by that though. The day will still be pretty cold regardless. The evenings will be cold, and will get colder from here on out. I wouldn't be surprised if the temperatures go below freezing at this time. I hope you guys packed some warm clothes and coats. I suggest having some warmers in your pockets at all times. If not, we've got extras in the storage warehouse."

He pressed the button again. The next bullet point came up, which showed "Rain".

"If it does rain, expect it to be cold. I wouldn't be surprised if it was freezing rain either. We're going to need to alert the Residents to take cover should that happen. Blizzards too. Any equipment that is outside should be brought inside. Or, if that's not going to work, they should at least be covered up. We should have a lot of tarps in the storage warehouse. Make sure that everyone is taking cover during these times. Unless they're like the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ herd out in the valley or are tough enough, I doubt they'll fare well in these storms."

Chris moved onto the next topic. He took on a more serious guise for this point. For Hazel, this was something that worried her as well. The topic was "Food".

"We'll also need to conserve on food supplies," he started off, glancing at the audience and then back at the screen. "We may have enough food to last us for a few months, but it's better to be safe than sorry. What if we're hit by an unexpected blizzard? We could be snowed in for days. We need to ration out our food resources as much as we can so we can make sure they last until the end of the 4 months. There should be no stealing food, especially from the storage, no hoarding, and no binging. Failure to comply with that will result in serious repercussions. I doubt any of you want to know what those are…"

The head keeper took in a breath and exhaled quietly. "Now the same goes for the Residents. We need to make sure everyone has enough food. Now this is an idea, but we may need to ask our new buddies from yesterday on how they cope in this place. If they're up to it, they may help the Residents with getting needed food."

"If they're willing," Hazel heard someone say at the front.

If Chris heard that rude comment, he did not show his reaction to it. He just moved onto the next point.

"Our water is drawn from a nearby river, so we should all be fine on that. Just in case, if you plan to drink from it, boil it first, otherwise you'd run the risk of getting parasites. And if any of you are planning to fish, make sure it's cooked thoroughly."

The audience remained silent, but Hazel saw that some people were cringing at the thought of parasites. The woman saw far too many documentaries, listened to stories, and read books about what they could do to a host. They could cause diseases or mess up body parts. True, her knowledge on parasites was less informative than what she knew on prehistoric animals, but she knew enough that they thrived in certain conditions. There were parasites that thrived in cold water and even in certain animals. There were other parasites that could be in hot springs. Others were far more noticeable but the measures to prevent anyone from catching them were common sense. In this case, boiling water and cooking food thoroughly was the way to go.

As much as she did not like Chris, she was glad he was touching up on this topic. It was better to be safe than sorry. The infirmary did have the means to cure parasites, but it would be easier to prevent it from happening in the first place.

"Now we need to prepare for the upcoming winter," the muscular department head started his final topic, "Resources". "We're going to need places of warmth for outside. Best things for that would be bonfires, which we'll have to keep burning throughout the day. We'll also need wood and natural food we can find around the area. So at times, we'll have to go on expeditions to gather needed supplies."

"But some of us don't want to go outside the park!" someone complained in the middle of the audience.

"Are you trying to kill us?" another accused.

"I know, you don't have to," Chris answered the first and then went to the next person with a serious gaze. "And no, we're not, but we're going to need volunteers to do these. We'll also have some Residents join you, particularly those who are the most defensive and some carnivores. Wouldn't hurt to have some extra muscle. With some extra protection, you should be fine. Just watch yourself."

That same person in the middle spoke up again. This time, he accused Chris of this decision. "But what you're asking of us is...well...dangerous!"

Hazel saw her coworker glare at the employee who said that. Taking a closer look at the person, she saw that it looked like one of the newer recruits that arrived months ago. If it were one of the employees who had been with the park longer, she would have been angry. But this person was a bit misinformed. He did not experience the trials and tribulations the Residents had been through regarding the predator/prey relationship.

"Almost everything in this park is dangerous," Chris said as if he were an adult talking a child down. His way of putting it slightly angered the park leader, but she did her best to keep her composure. Most of what he was saying, she agreed with. "Not to mention the rescues we go out to are also dangerous. If you don't like the idea, you can just walk out of here. You want to stay safe? Fine. But this situation is 'all hands on deck'. You don't contribute, then that's not going to look good on you. And that goes for the rest of you. If you don't want to help out here, the place where you volunteered to help for the next couple of months, you can just step out the doors. None of us are stopping you. But that means not all of us are going to survive. So go on. Leave."

The audience looked among themselves. No complaint escaped from their mouths. The eldest Veran could not help but be a bit impressed by how he put that speech out. His tone was demeaning, but had Hazel been put in that same position, she might have said something similar.

Nobody left the room after his somewhat-scolding speech. It was a relief to the leader. Like he said, this crisis required everyone's cooperation.

"Okay," he nodded in satisfaction. "That's what I thought."

The young man pressed the clicker up at the screen. The next slide that materialized showed a border that was filled with the Red Cross symbols. Daisy rose up from her seat to take her place on the stage. The two of them traded the presentation items. Once Chris was back at the front row, crossing his legs and arms, the Grecian woman began her part of the slideshow.

"Hello-"

 _ ***VWOOOOOOOOOSCREEEEEEE***_

The whole staff grimaced uncomfortably. Groans and people covering their ears at the reverberating speakers sounded off. Even Hazel found that grating to her ears. Still, she forgave Daisy. It must have been the speakers acting up.

"Oh, _syngnómi_ (I'm sorry)!" she apologized, leading to the audience quieting down to be more courteous. She cleared her throat and went on with her presentation with a nervous smile. "I know this seems bad, but if we are going to survive this winter, then we need to work together on this. This winter may be the coldest one we've ever experienced. I'm still shivering as we speak. During our stay, we will not doubt have some medical problems."

She looked up at the screen, which showed the "Medical Aspects" of the presentation. Clicker in hand, she pressed the button and introduced the first topic, "First Aid". The bullet went up to the middle, unlike the other points in the slideshow.

"First Aid for everyone will always be available, but that is a given. The same goes for anyone who gets sick. The infirmary must always stay operational throughout the day. You know, as always."

The next one came up. "Priorities", it read. Hazel nodded at that. This was also something that everyone needed to pay attention to. Daisy's part of the slideshow was pretty straightforward, but they all had the main points that needed to be put across. According to her on their meeting before this started, she said that any information she had regarding this topic will be sent to everyone later on in the day.

"Any sick Resident must be separated from their herds and placed in the infirmary until they get better," said Daisy. "We don't want to risk anyone else getting sick. We've got enough supplies to last for the four months so long as we do not use them in excess. Just be careful when using any medications; we are, after all, cut off from the present."

The head veterinarian coughed away from the microphone. A sniffle came and went. Hazel looked upon her with sympathy. The poor girl must not be used to the cold that she got a cold herself.

"Baby Residents must be monitored at all times for any health issues," Daisy kept on presenting.

A few pictures of the younger Park denizens appeared on the screen in a vertical line. There were three of them. The first was of the _Protoceratops_ quadruplets, who were playing with a few toys in the nursery. The second was of a teal-colored _Parasaurolophus_ youngling hatching out of its egg; no doubt this was taken some time last year according to the date that was posted. The third was of a group of brown feathered _Ornithomimus_ younglings in front of an admiring Nigel Marven and Suzanne McNabb. Hazel knew that picture; she saw it when Nigel showed her previous recordings of the park some time ago.

The woman stiffened. Daisy presenting this was impeccable. The first ones to be affected by the changing weather would no doubt be the babies and children. None of them experienced cold seasons before. Cooler temperatures for some, but not everyone. All of the youngsters needed to be prioritized.

"As a reminder, most of them have not experienced winter before. I would expect some of them to get sick with a fever or a cold so we need to watch them. The procedures of sick Residents also apply."

Her final topic came, but not before she let out a sneeze away from the microphone, which she covered with her arm. The Mediterranean denizen retrieved a tissue from her pocket and cleansed herself. Her tissue was stored away in her pocket. " _Syngnómi._ Gods, I hate this cold. The other Residents that are not used to cold temperatures must also be tended to. Blankets and hay must always be available. The warming tents must be operational, but we'll need to switch them off at times during the day to conserve on energy. Everyone must be vigilant, so I do not want to see anyone slacking off."

Her presentation finished in record time. One press of the remote and the slide switched to the final topic. Hazel watched as the Grecian woman approached her. The leader got up and retrieved the microphone as well as the remote.

She looked back, getting herself situated in the final topic of the meeting. The Filipino woman inhaled and began to present.

"Thanks Daisy. Now onto the final topic we need to discuss," she took a few steps over to the left side and gestured over to the screen. The slide only contained two words; not much information was posted. Hazel knew what she was going to say, and this was in fact one of the more important topics everyone needed to know. "Guard shifts. With the White Noise Cannons off, we'll need to have another line of defense. In this case, we'll need lookouts. I'll ask the Residents if any of them want to participate. We're going to need some muscle should anything come our way. There will be signup sheets near the exits which will pertain on what duties you want to work on with the predicament. For the guard shifts, we're in need of at least 40 volunteers, 20 for the day shift, and 20 for the night shift. More information will be provided later on in the day."

Once again, the employees whispered to each other. Hazel could clearly see how uncomfortable they were on this. A hundred volunteers who signed up just to look after prehistoric creatures were now being asked to act as security. Carrying stun guns just in case certain ill-tempered Residents go off the handle was one thing. Back at the park, all they needed to worry about was them getting attacked by a carnivore that had a bad attitude. Now, they need to worry about the native wildlife attacking them.

They were in a facility that was cut off from the 21st century. No rescue parties, no health insurance, and no contact with friends and family. Hazel planned on sending a text message to Nigel about the situation, but then that would mean the whole park would be playing a waiting game on what solution he was going to do. His reply could take weeks or even months to reach her phone, not to mention her phone is the only one that can bypass the temporal field. He may do something to disable the whole time discordance and try to rescue everyone before the cutoff time.

But then, what if he doesn't respond at all? What if help never comes? What then? Hazel would have to lead the park on her own. She would have to run this place until the 4 months are up.

Her mind soured. She can't rely on Nigel. Waiting for his reply would not be efficient for the park. She can send him a message, but waiting will not be beneficial. Right now, she needs to treat this situation as if she were on her own.

She looked upon the audience, who spoke quietly about how their four months would be with the new problems they were facing. She pressed the button on the remote. The screen in the back turned black.

"Are there any questions?" Hazel asked them all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The meeting took longer than expected, that much Hazel predicted. Mostly because everyone had questions they needed answered. She along with the staff heads answered their questions as best as they could. However, most of the questions they asked were actually listed on the forms that the staff retrieved after the meeting, making the explanations redundant.

Despite the apparent danger looming over their heads, a decent number of people signed up for the new jobs that were listed. While she was glad that they did sign up for the other duties that the staff heads said needed more attention, like veterinarian shifts, the park now had a good number of staff members serving as security guards. Hazel would have to go to the _Microraptors_ , _Yi_ _Qis_ , and Espantos regarding the security preparations, but that would be later in the day. Rooms would have to be settled among the staff body, but she would have to confirm everyone's requests on bunking as the days go by.

Everything else was going to be handled gradually.

As soon as the meeting ended, everyone left the room post-haste. Hazel had to let the employees know that the Residents should not know about what happened this morning. The reason why was because she'd rather the news come from the park's couriers first before the details come in. Hazel hoped they would follow through with that.

With the meeting adjourned, Hazel made her way through the 48 degree cloudy park to the bistro for some breakfast, but not before returning to her room to retrieve her black fleece gloves and her dagger, just in case. All of the stress of the early morning built up her appetite. A bowl of Honey Bunches with milk, a cup of chamomile tea, a bowl of fruit salad, and a blueberry bagel with cream cheese were sufficient for her. While she was there, she was not surprised to find the bistro to be packed by nearly all of the staff. The bistro was small and the seats could only accommodate a certain number. Most of the employees just got their food and left the place, knowing that trying to get a seat in the place was a slim chance. It was packed and noisy; Hazel did not want to stay there longer than she had to.

Today was supposed to be her day of working on forms. One of her jobs was to document the status of Temporary Park from the reports she gets every week. Considering this was only day one, it would be best to have a starting report. Each report would be submitted by certain aspects from the departments. For example, the veterinarians would have a report on the number of sick patients and medical supplies used. The keepers would record the amount of food that was left in the storage after the day is done. And so forth.

There was one thing she planned to do first before obtaining those reports. Making her way over to the park outskirts, she bypassed the herd members and few sauropods that she came across. Some quick hellos and nods were all she gave them when they greeted her. They were going in different directions, but all of them had breakfast on their mind. At least the forests here had some food resources they could exploit.

There was one Resident she was after first. She asked others she came across about his whereabouts. They were surprised as to why she would seek him out, but they answered her question nonetheless. Their directions led her to the eastern part of the park, along the edge of the eastern forest. The trees and shrubbery in the forest were distinctions of a northern arboreal habitat. With the amount of space and food available, it would be surprising if the herds went hungry. And even if they were not into the food here, the greenhouse had plenty of food for the specialist eaters, just in case.

As she walked, prehistoric birds flew above her head. Large insects buzzed all around. The smell of prehistoric foliage filled the air. Calls of other dinosaurs in the forest echoed around. Hazel was indeed in the Mesozoic era during its prime.

Her primary target finally came in sight. She approached the green and brown-striped quadrupedal behemoth, not minding the apparent danger she might be placing herself in.

"So how's the food?" she asked the _Iguanodon_ that was quietly grazing on some leaves from a bush.

The ornithopod choked on the leaves he was chewing. Small bits of them fell onto the twiggy terrain as he coughed. As soon as he recovered, he abruptly turned. His scarred face stared down at the little hooded human. His mouth was plastered into a scowl at his intruder.

"A bit chilled for your taste?" Hazel added to her greeting, unafraid of the one herbivore that gave her a hard time in the past.

"What do you want?" Nero demanded. Surprisingly, her guess was accurate. The food in this time was a bit chilly to his throat. Not to mention that some of the foliage he tried varied on his taste buds; from a bit tangy to bitter. Their texture was a bit rougher on his tongue too. They weren't anything he could handle.

The human shrugged and placed her hands in her vest pockets. "Just came to check up on you. Been a while since we spoke. Not since that time when-."

"Don't even go there!" he interrupted, roaring at her.

Hazel tensed up. Her hand almost touched the dagger on her left side out of defensive instinct. She had to stop herself from doing so, otherwise the meeting would go south. Last year was an eventful one, especially since the park had its second and third breakout, the latter being the one he was referring to. Nero had played a part in the second breakout. He more than made up for it, even showed some acceptable behavior, but Hazel could tell that he was bothered by it. The leader relaxed and spoke to him in a calm manner.

"Sorry. Looks like working around the park may have built up some muscle on you," she said, seeing that the green warrior did indeed become stronger during this last year.

He huffed, not amused. "If you came here to just talk, then you're wasting your time. I'm not in the mood."

"Alright fine," she replied nonchalantly. "But I did come to you for a reason. I just came to ask something of you."

His grey, cold eyes narrowed, suspicion arose in his features. "I've had more than enough deals in my lifetime. Whatever it is, I'm not interested."

"It's not a deal. It's just a favor. It's not really that bad, but I'm wondering if you're up to it."

Once again, Hazel knew it would come to this. Back when that second breakout happened, it was due to Nero making a deal with Diablo. In exchange for the Carnotaur's freedom, his enemies would be killed. At the time, he had a bone to pick with Aladar for taking the position as herd leader before he did, and Hazel herself for always standing in his way for what he believed in. This ended up being a trick by the Carnotaur, resulting in Nero becoming severely injured and, in a way, exiled from the herd in everyone's eyes.

Hazel and Aladar spared him from banishment from the valley. He showed that he regretted his mistake and had at least _some_ compassion in him, due to him saving some Residents, including a few of their friends plus Neera, from the park's rampaging _Elasmotherium_. Kerato, as Hazel recently learned from Daisy some time ago, had terrible eyesight like his modern day descendants. He could not tell that he was endangering innocents by accident. Nero stepped in before he could cause any more harm.

The events of last year left a lasting impression on him. Making deals was something he had an incredible distaste for.

"A favor?" he scoffed, looking away for a bit. "What, you want me to help with cleaning up everyone's mess? Aren't I already off my punishment?"

Hazel put her hands on her hips. Her footing shifted, her body leaned to the side. Her face remained unchanged. "Yes, a favor. And no on both accounts. It's got nothing to do with cleaning or with helping out with the chores. You've already made up for...well that time. You haven't caused any trouble, so I'd say you're a model citizen. You've grown up in everyone's perspective."

Nero's eyes rolled unenthusiastically. "Are you here to bore me with your comments?"

The human made a haphazard sigh and turned around. "Well I guess you're not up to my favor. I was going to ask you to help with training a couple of individuals in surviving out here, but I guess you're not interested. Out of everyone here in the park, I was thinking you'd be gung-ho in some training. You have been training to become a herd leader for years; so much so that you're one of the strongest fighters here. I was hoping you could share your knowledge. Oh well, I guess I'll just go and find Sarge. Someone told me he's training Tirech in the park outskirts. I think I'll-"

"Wait!"

She looked back. Her eyes glinted with interest. The _Iguanodon_ looked at her with what looked like concern to her.

"You're thinking of asking that bumbling idiot to train a couple of spineless recruits?" he replied as if reprimanding her for her decision. "None of them will last very long with his idiotic knowledge. You'd best look for someone else to train them."

"Sounds like you're interested."

The hefty herbivore snorted indignantly. "You'd think I'd say yes to something like that? I only said that because that idiot would only end up driving them off a cliff with how he trains. All of his training sessions are mediocre at best. You're better off looking for someone else."

Hazel resisted making a sly smile. "Like the carnivores?"

Nero's eyes went wide. "You'd think of offering those recruits as lunch to those things? After what we've been through in the past?"

"Not sure if you've already heard, but they're going to roam about now, supervised of course. It's to save on power. Actually, pretty much everyone is free to go about."

The reformed _Iguanodon_ snapped his head at her. He roared loudly, deafening her hearing for a moment. Hazel had to cover her hears just to save her sense from being lost. Had he gone off the handle, he may have swiped her away with his head; his bumpy snout adornment could have hurt her.

"Are you crazy!?" the furious herbivore scolded. "Don't you know what kind of a risk you're taking!?"

Hazel quickly pat his muzzle, much to his annoyance. "Calm down. Our meat-eating neighbors have been upstanding for a while. The issue with the _Allosaurus_ has been resolved. The rexes aren't at each other's throats anymore. The Sabers aren't into hunting anybody else. The _Dilophosaurus_ are sated. The bugs are going to stay in their house. Espantos is...Espantos. The _Microraptors_ and the _Yi_ _Qis_ aren't a threat. And Rascal...well, he's going to be under a lot of supervision."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "And the Carnotaur?"

The human shrugged. "Yeah, him too. He'll be supervised by several keepers, and maybe a couple of Residents. Just in case."

"You can't let him out! He'll slaughter everyone on the spot!"

"No, he won't. He's mellowed out. I promise," she told him.

Inside, she could feel her guts turning. She could not believe what she was saying. Diablo had a bone to pick with her and she likewise. He did try to kill her friends and the herd before on a few occasions. And he was the one who started the whole second breakout, using Nero as a means of escape. It wasn't until recently that Hazel learned of the nature of carnivores. They needed to kill to survive and never do so out of evil intentions. Diablo lost his mate and his old life. It made sense that he went mad. Yet, as time went on, the Carnotaur showed that he had a "softer" side to him, if that word was even accurate. He was complicated. Hazel still had trouble at times on seeing whether he had started respecting everyone around him. She would usually stay away from him as a precaution.

Nero turned away, completely uncertain by how crazy she was sounding. Rather than focus his attention on her, he took a mouthful of leaves from the bush, filling his mouth with the slightly bitter taste of the leaves in his throat. He paid no mind to her, as if she were just some pesky bug that would go away.

Hazel, on the other hand, was having none of it. She was giving Nero a chance at penance, yet it seemed like he was not into it. She came here for a reason, and she was not leaving until she got it. "Nero, if I can remember correctly, you participated at our Christmas celebration a few months ago. Nearly all of the carnivores were out. None of them caused any trouble. And it seemed like you got along well with them."

He scoffed, still not looking at her. "That was just for that day."

"And I think I heard of some rumors that several Residents were holding underground wrestling matches behind the staff's backs. Some of the participants were carnivores. Someone told me that you came second when competing for the title of Champion of the Ring against Bruno," she said, hearing about that same rumor she heard from some time ago. One of the _Microraptors_ told her about those. It was supposed to be hush-hush, but only a few employees knew about it. Only Nigel, the other senior staff members, and nearly the rest of the roster were unaware of such a thing. Hazel never saw one of these matches except for that time close to Christmas, but sometimes, she would hear cheers and roars in one part of the valley in the dead of night.

Nero brutally ripped off a branch out of a struck nerve. He dropped it and exploded in accusation of that account. "That small-minded nitwit cheated by throwing me off the ring!"

Hazel laughed at the confirmation he gave. "So you were associating with carnivores!"

The _Iguanodon_ loner sputtered, saving face. "I...it was just for the game! You can't be too careful around them. They could turn against you at any moment. It's good to know all of their weak points should they decide to pull a fast one."

The girl smiled slyly. "Sure Nero, sure."

"Why did you come to me anyway?" he said, changing the topic.

She lifted her hand up for a moment to flex it. "It's like I said before. Out of everyone in the park, you've got better experience with training. You worked the hardest in trying to achieve the status of leader. You're tactical in battle, you're hard to take down, and you've got a ton of fighting experience. I heard that you and a certain wooly rhino went head to head some time ago. Not many can survive an attack from an _Elasmotherium_ , especially with that horn that can skewer almost anything."

"I have a lot of things to do," he quickly objected.

"I beg to differ," she said against that alibi. "After your sentence was lifted, you've been wandering around just staring at the herd, daydreaming, or training by yourself. You should be back with the herd by now rather than wallowing in solitude."

"I'm not interested in joining up with the herd. They won't accept me, after everything I've done."

"Well, that's your choice then. I can't direct you on your life. You do what you need to do. But the individuals I'm talking about need help. They've had little experience with surviving out here, and on their first mission to the past, they were...mediocre in their performance. I want you to help toughen them up."

Nero turned to her. Hazel watched as he pondered more on this request. For a long time, he trained himself for the day he would finally take Kron's place as herd leader, and yet he lost out on it when Aladar beat him to it. And now someone was asking him to use his expertise to train some new blood.

"These individuals…are they humans?" he questioned.

"Well, yes," she confirmed his guess. "They are. That's not going to be a problem, is it?"

Rather than reply to that, he pressed on to his questioning. "And you can't do it yourself?"

"I'm a busy woman. I have a whole park to run."

Nero fell silent on that. The girl awaited his answer. She knew that what she said was the truth. Nero had done nothing except be solitary in the valley, just doing his own thing. He had a lot on his mind, but he needed to get over his inner demons. True, she was thinking of asking Sarge, but it was like Nero said. His ways were not very…conventional. The _Iguanodon_ was smarter and more tactical. He could spot any sort of weakness on anyone. Perhaps if he used that on training others, he could help with strengthening the things that others lacked.

He stood up straight and sighed. His eyes stared blankly into hers. "Alright. I'm interested…"

Hazel smirked. Her plan worked. Without pause, she proceeded to let him in on her idea.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That afternoon…

Hazel approached the wooden enclosure in front of her. The news of it being the fall season and word of the details of the meeting spread around the park like wildfire. Well, first she told her friends about it. They were concerned about the season getting colder, and as such, they needed to tell their respective extended families on the preparations they need to go through. They were okay with most of the Residents being let out. But the real kicker came in when she told them of the plans with the carnivores.

Aladar , Neera, and Flia were uncomfortable with the idea. Eema, Baylene, and Yar told her off for even suggesting that idea. Url kept on whining nervously throughout the meeting. Zini, Aya, and Suri were the only ones that remained silent. Everyone had a mix of feelings on the subject. Hazel had to work to convince them that this was the only way to make sure that everyone's chances of survival would be better with this factor. The Allosaurs and the rexes were among the least of their worries; the Allosaurs were courteous in their way and would not dare hurt those that saved them. The rexes' behavior improved over the months. Rascal…was going to be a nuisance. The Sabers and the _Dilophosaurus_ , maybe. Caius and Flit would be fine. Their only problem was Diablo. It took much convincing, but they agreed, albeit hesitantly. Telling them that Diablo was going to be watched 24/7 with heavy guards placate them only a little bit.

This was a hard time coming, and there was not much of a choice in the matter. Having the barriers around the predatory enclosures remain active would only deplete the energy in the park faster.

As soon as she told the _Microraptors_ , the Yi Qis, and Espantos of the news, the Terror Bird sped off around the sanctuary. Sure enough, the valley was in a bit of an uproar with all the gossip and uncertainty of how things in the park were going to be run. Aladar and Neera certainly had their work cut out for them; the park outskirts were sounding off with the reactions of the herd members as well as the sauropods that roamed around. Yar and Plio may be having the same issue, but they also might have an easier time too. The lemur clan was bunking with a large crocodilian in one house.

Hazel had high hopes they would settle things among their herds, or in the lemurs case, clan. The rest of the Residents would have to be calmed by their smaller gliding companions about it.

The other problem was telling Patchi, Juniper, and Scowler about it. Hazel had to approach them in person, accompanied by Woodstock, since she was in the area to begin with. Finding her was easy; she was roaming around the park while speaking to Charles since they were about to get a bite to eat. The _Supersaurus_ was pretty good as a mediator and putting in her insight on how "average" things have been in the park with the carnivores in it helped with the explanation. Patchi and his brother were quick to violence and wanted to ram the human for not telling them they were sharing their valley with creatures that would tear their flesh. They also did not like it that they were going to be permitted to roam around. It was a good thing Woodstock stepped in and explained the situation, along with Juniper, who sided with the human. The alpha female was still uncomfortable, but considering how helpful the staff had been with looking after the herds, she decided to give them a chance. Patchi, albeit reluctantly and still distrustful of these carnivores, was forced to agree, but only because the human promised they would not hurt anyone.

The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ were going to explain to their herd the situation. They will have their own judgement of the carnivores by meeting them later on, much like the tours others took in the past. Like the Valley Herd and the Lemur Clan, Hazel hoped that they would take this well.

When things started to quiet down, she got to work on the first carnivorous Resident. She gathered a team of twenty employees, all of whom were armed with tranquilizer guns and stun guns. Tentatively, they approached the enclosure; their guns up and ready to fire should he decide to attack them.

Hazel stood a few feet in front of the gate. This enclosure was placed near the edge of the park, close to the forest. Nigel planned for Diablo to be placed here, out of precaution for everyone. Everyone had to get here either by ATV or jeep as it was away from most of the facilities. The nearest one was the storage warehouse. She waited patiently as a hulking red, horned behemoth stomped up to the wooden bars. His box-shaped muzzle opened to reveal sharp teeth with pillars of drool.

"Diablo. I'm sure you heard the news," she calmly remarked, despite the risk she was making.

Diablo growled. "That the whole place is being invaded by more of those knob-nose grass-chewers, that we're entering a cold, season, and oh...that you plan to release all of us so that we don't have to remain cooped up in these infernal cages?"

"Spot on," Hazel said with a hint of sass. "We're going to release all of the carnivores, you included. You guys would have to return to your enclosures each night, unless you're busy; just for the sake of attendance. There are a few exceptions, of course; the ones in the indoor enclosures."

The Carnotaur smiled deviously. The employees around him prepared their weapons, especially the ones with the stun guns as they were adjusting the voltage to a higher setting.

"On the condition," she brought up, slightly downing his spirits a bit. "That you and the rest of the carnivores do not attack anyone in and from the park nor eat anybody in the sanctuary, including the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ herd. Do so and there will be severe consequences. Every carnivore will be under strict supervision to make sure no problems come up."

"Oh, of course," he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

The human glared at him like an adult would to a spoiled child. "Need I remind you that you're one of the reasons why not everyone is too peachy keen with this idea?"

"I'm not surprised. I am annoyed that you are going to enlist guards around me."

"Just be glad that we're allowing you to roam around. It's a precaution we're taking."

Diablo resigned with a snort. "Fine."

At his response, Hazel pulled out a silver remote from her vest pocket. Her thumb played over the button that would terminate the Perimeter Collar functionality as well as the Barrier Dome. She could feel her thumb tremble as she stared upon the large behemoth that was a walking Russian roulette.

"You won't cause any problems, will you?"

The horned devil huffed. "I'm not dumb enough to start something while we're in unfamiliar territory."

"No attacking anybody else?"

"No."

"Keep in mind that you will still be supervised when you hunt outside the park," she warned. "If you decide to betray the trust we are giving you, none of us will hesitate to use deadly force on you. The consequences will be dire."

"Yes yes, I know," he blurted impatiently. His feet shifted in their positions to add on to his intolerance of this conversation. "The infernal bird told me. Just get on with it."

Hazel nodded. She looked upon the sleek device in her gloved hand. At first, she went to press the release button. But she found her thumb unable to move. The park leader shuddered at the decision she was making. Was this really the right thing to do? If Diablo was released, then it's a 50/50 chance that he would either abide by the rules or go rogue and attack everyone again. He was being given a chance to exact his revenge on everyone in the valley for his "imprisonment", especially towards Aladar and Hazel herself. It was something he always wanted.

That goal, did he still want to go through with it? She had not heard of any tantrums he pulled ever since that second breakout. From her talk with him around Christmas, he seemed to have some aspect of compassion, even though it was a bit off-setting. The staff did mellow down around him in terms of previous apprehension. The Residents that did roam around did their best to steer clear from him, but those that did would only get ignored. Maybe he did change.

He did scare her mother and sister though, out of pure entertainment. While that was rude, he did not mean to harm them.

Then there was the issue of conserving power in the park. With his enclosure up and running, the power would deplete faster. With winter coming, they needed all the power they could get.

Hazel gritted her teeth. She willed her thumb to move; to break out of its frozen spell.

"Hazel, don't do this!" she heard a male employee say. "He's just going to start attacking when he busts out!"

"He promised not to attack anyone!" said another to counter his judgement. "Besides, we're all going to die if we don't go through with releasing all of the carnivores!"

"Are you sure he can be trusted?" asked a nervous female keeper.

"This is a bad idea!" yelled a frantic staff member.

Hazel turned around and made her reasoned outburst at the arguing employees. "We don't have a choice! The power will run out if we keep him in there any longer! We'll freeze before the portals reactivate or before spring comes!"

The woman took a sigh and relaxed. The bickering behind her stopped. She looked upon the remote tentatively. Her gloved hand touched the button, close to pressing it.

"Well? I'm waiting," Diablo rumbled with growing impatience.

The girl shut her eyes. Her thumb pressed deeper into the button. The small key leveled with the rest of the device's surface. Her stomach dropped when she heard the collar on his leg click and thump on the ground. The enclosure gate that kept the monstrous behemoth inside rumbled as it slid open.

Hazel opened her eyes at the decision she made. The gate was now fully ajar. Dread poured over her when she saw the hulking Carnotaur slowly walk out of the enclosure. She backed away several feet, making sure to give him lots of space.

Diablo stopped several feet from the group of humans. Each and every armed staff member kept their guns on him. The clicking of triggers sounded off all around. The predator paid not mind to it as she shook his leg, which was now free from the weight of that glorified shackle. He then raised his head to sniff the air.

A devilish smile formed on his face. "It's good to be outside."

The carnivore sniffed again. His yellow eyes widened when he caught the scent of something familiar. Diablo growled and slowly made his way east, everyone made sure to not let him out of their sight.

Several feet from the edge of his enclosure was a large wooden cart. The jeep was still attached to it and the inside remained empty. Inside the cart was a sizeable pile of beef and pork slabs. His meal had been left for him there intentionally, just to make sure he would not attack anybody out of hunger.

He gorged on the pile of flesh. His tongue met the muscle strands of the meat, which melted in his jaws. The blood that was still frozen melted, oozing onto his taste buds. The irony taste of that liquid sated his appetite with each moment that passed.

Hazel kept watching him feast on his meal. Movement passed her peripheral vision. She stiffened when she saw a group of herd members passing by. It was a small group, consisting of a female _Styracosaurus_ , two male _Stygimoloch_ , a male _Parasaurolophus_ , and an adolescent male _Struthiomimus_. They froze when they saw their old enemy look upon them.

She felt her chest tighten. This was it. Will Diablo keep to his promise? Or will he betray them? The employees around her readied themselves to attack.

Diablo chuckled after swallowing a mouthful of meat. "Oh don't mind me," he told them with a conniving smile. "I'm just getting my fill."

He took another mouthful of meat. The sound of crunching bones and flesh being torn aggravated the herbivores' ears. The adolescent _Struthiomimus_ gasped before collapsing on the side like a wilted plant. The others stood their simply irked and frightened by how casual their former adversary was to them.

Hazel face palmed. She prayed that this idea would end up being beneficial in the end.


	16. A Strange Request and Added Stress

_**A.N. Hey guys, Darksage and Marc here with another chapter to LNoW. Sorry about the wait, we've been a bit busy with work and social events that needed our attention. Just a heads up, but there will be times when we won't be able to post chapters fast enough due to other events (jobs, family events, etc.). But please be patient, we will update the chapters still. Other than that, enjoy this new part of the story! :)**_

While the last of the carnivores were being released from their enclosures, the department heads kept themselves busy over in the Valley Herd's section of the park. The mayhem of complaints and fear from the herbivorous Residents, both new and visiting, as well as a number of the employees that were still uncomfortable with the idea, sounded off from various parts of the park. They already did their job with trying to reassure their teams on the new changes in plans the sanctuary had. Already tired from their own meetings, they wanted to try to forget the mess of the morning by going on with their jobs.

The whole park was abuzz with activity from the aftermath of the meeting. Aladar and Neera's herd was doing their best to cope with the sudden change in the roaming roster. Some of the herd members were tolerant of some of the carnivores, like the Sabers and the _Allosaurus_ , but that was as long as Broken Jaw remained with the roaming sauropods. More specifically, just as long as he was under the combined supervision of Woodstock and a few employees. Those herd members and the other herbivorous Residents decided to interact with their meat-eating companions, much to their peers' distaste. The few that were afraid of them stuck to the park outskirts in groups, especially since their old enemy, Diablo, was out. Those Residents were still voicing their concerns to their leaders.

And it certainly did not help that most of the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ from Patchi and Juniper's herd were not happy with this setup. The fact that the very creatures that could eat them were now roaming about made them extremely uncomfortable. The Herd members that agreed with this stuck with that other herd for protection. Patchi was nowhere to be found after he received the news, but the department heads found Juniper and surprisingly, Scowler, trying to calm the crowd from far away.

Right now, the carnivores were in the process of getting used to their new freedom. With the exception of the _Allosaurus_ , the _Dilophosaurus_ , and Diablo, they were out hunting, supervised of course.

Everyone was on guard. Every single employee, including the veterinarians, were armed with stun guns. Despite all of the stress, the younglings in the valley were coping with the stress with play; under the watchful eye of their parents and adult guardians.

Daisy had called a team of veterinarians to the park outskirts to check up on the younglings for any health problems. Twenty of them were gathered at the moment, all of which consisted of _Parasaurolophus_ , _Iguanodons_ , _Struthiomimus_ , and _Styracosaurus_. With the huge number of child Residents, the best time to check on them would be now, while the weather was not that cold yet. This also coincided with Chris' job of babysitting.

Ellis decided to work on one of the White Noise cannons he brought from the border in their company. The huge white and grey megaphone-like structure was propped on a tripod that had to be transported by jeep. It was pretty heavy, but effective. Currently, he was looking at the interior circuitry, since he received word that this was not working correctly.

While it was stressful at the moment, two of the department heads were enjoying a bit of entertainment from the head keeper while he chased after one of his wards for her checkup. The _Protoceratops_ sisters were playing with the twenty younglings that the vet team gathered up. The next group was still being gathered up. Most of the younglings posed no problem when getting them to Daisy for their appointment. The _Protoceratops_ sisters were more difficult, especially since they were playing tag with their new friends.

"Hey Fleetfoot!" called the three-marked ceratopsian named Territia to a fleeing purple and blue colored _Struthiomimus_ youngling. "Come back so I can tag you!"

"You're going to have to catch me first!" laughed the little runner.

Chris made a sharp turn while keeping his sights on the _Protoceratops_. "Get back here, Number 3! It's your turn to get checked!"

"Quit calling me that, Chrissy! My name is Territia!"

"And my name is Chris! Not Chrissy! That's a girl's name!"

Both Ellis and Daisy could not help but snicker at his outbursts. The head keeper may be on the aloof side at times, but seeing him fail miserably at looking after some kids was a rare moment indeed. None of them have ever seen him like this before. The dirt on his face as well as all over his clothing from going after the younglings all day was just priceless.

Several minutes of trying to get Territia and the young man finally caught her. One quick lunge on his stomach and the hornless-dinosaur was in his arms. Poor Territia was trying to squirm out of his grip as he walked over to Daisy, who had just finished looking over a young _Parasaurolophus_.

"Here…" he breathed heavily as he shoved the _Protoceratops_ into the vet's arms. "She's all yours."

"Hey no fair!" complained Territia. "I was busy playing! I nearly had him!"

"You missed him by an inch," the Seattle denizen coldly remarked before walking away.

"Only because you caught me before I could catch him!"

If Chris heard that, he didn't give out any reaction. The head keeper walked at least ten feet from the group before slumping on the ground. His back kissing the earth, he propped his head on his hands. His muscles ached from having to run after younglings to catch them the whole day.

Ellis chuckled after putting his wrench back in his tool belt. "I feel sorry for you, dude. Looking over at least 20 kids before moving onto the next group is pretty sucky. I'm glad I don't work at a daycare."

The expert zoologist grumbled. "Shut up…"

The head vet's eyes narrowed at the slacking head keeper. " _Tempélis alítis_ (Lazy bum). You know if you asked nicely, then maybe she would have come to you rather than go chasing after her."

"I tried that route!" he shouted without looking. "They never listen!"

"Maybe you need to change your output," she said under her breath. Her focus went back to the _Protoceratops_ in her arms. "Now let's check on those joints."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Daisy and Ellis got back to work, someone completely unexpected approached the group. Her footsteps brought the attention of the younglings, which in turn attracted the vet and the engineer. The dinosaurs silently watched her stand before them. Even Territia's focus was set on the newcomer while her knees were being prodded by the strange rubber instrument Daisy had. Her long braid wafted in the soft breeze. In contrast to this morning, she now had a quiver full of arrows strapped across her back. Slung over her shoulder was a metal bow.

"Uh…hello," Hanna shyly greeted.

" _Chaírete_ (Hello) Hanna," Daisy returned the gesture.

"Hey there," Ellis went next.

" _Veran lite_ ," Chris said in an uninterested manner without looking at her. "This is a surprise."

The younger sister of the park leader frowned at the keeper who gave her that nickname. "Please don't call me that. I don't like that name."

"Yeah…no," he prodded her nerve, much to her annoyance.

"Taking a stroll around the park?" Ellis asked, preventing her from putting out any more complaints.

The pink V-neck sweater clad girl shrugged. "Yeah...but it's kind of hard to relax with all of these...carnivores roaming about," she shuddered at the new rule that took effect shortly before. Her knowledge on dinosaurs may be limited, but from her trip to the outskirts, she assumed that the dinosaurs that did not look monstrous and left her alone were herbivores. "I'm scared that they'll all eat me."

It was true. She did take her own tour of the park. But due to her limited knowledge of the Residents as well as the time they were in, it was hard to see the good in it all. Some of the Residents, like the medium-sized sauropods, the blue and grey runners, and even the three-horned dinosaurs, tried to get closer to her. All she did was skirt away quickly and not look at them. And she certainly was not in the right mood to socialize with the other employees.

Being completely out of her element and time put her beside herself.

Ellis took out a couple of the wires from within the console. He started to re-attach them together as gingerly as he could. "Ah...I wouldn't worry about that," he said without giving her a glance. "Those guys know not to eat us...unless we push them. They've got bigger things to worry about, like upholding their appetites."

Hanna's jaw fell open. Her worries skyrocketed with how chill the engineer was with this. In response, the Grecian woman glared at the working engineer before giving the young Veran a reassuring gaze.

"They won't eat us. Your sister already told everyone to remain in the park borders until they've all returned from their hunting expeditions. They also know not to pull any stunts while in unknown territory. We'll be okay so long as we stick together."

Her words had their intended effect as she relaxed a little. Her hand still gripped onto the bow at the idea that the carnivores still roamed about though. After her first encounter with a few of the carnivores from two days ago, she was anything but relaxed. Traumatized would be a better term to describe her feelings at the moment.

"If you say so. What about that horned one? Diablo?" Out of all of the Residents in the park, the first one she was anxious about was the very creature that scared her and her mother in the first place. After all, in her eyes, he was the biggest and meanest one in the roster.

Ellis glanced over at her; his hands were in the middle of tying the inner workings of the wires together. "Last I saw him, he was gorging on a pile of meat next to his enclosure. He's walking around the back, most likely trying to get a feel for the surroundings. He's being watched by a huge group of keepers, all of whom were armed. Granted I haven't associated with him, but that guy's pretty tough. Any other carnivore within a two mile radius would know not to mess with him."

"Okay then…" she sat down on the prehistoric grass. Her bow, while still gripped in her hand, slowly rested on her lap.

Her mind was still confounded that the grass in this time was similar to the grass in the 21st century. Her fingers felt the little blades before they reached over to a couple of rocks nearby. Rather than being bare, the rocks were covered by what looked like moss. She was no expert in plants, but that was what they looked like to her. Her attention was drawn away when she saw a small group of young dinosaurs approach her. A small gasp escaped her throat when they started bleating and honking at her. Leading them were the _Protoceratops_ sisters, including Territia who escaped Daisy when she was just about to check her eyes with the mini flashlight.

" _ **Rhoaaa! Bluuuuuura!**_ (Wow! A new human!)" one _Iguanodon_ child exclaimed in excitement.

" _ **Craaaaaw reeeee maaaaaa truuuuurl**_ (Hey, my mom told me about her)," said a female _Struthiomimus_ youngling. " _ **Raaaaaw kaawreee shuur**_ (She's Miss Hazel's sister.)"

A young _Parasaurolophus_ trumpeted before looking at the others. " _ **Rowe breee aaaaah?**_ (Do you think she's nice?)"

The four _Protoceratops_ that came up to her propped their front legs on her lap. She made a close call when one of them nearly stomped on her weapon; she had to yank it away in time. The girl yelped in surprise at how close they were to her, as well as the new weight she had on her legs. The fact that four animals that were supposed to be extinct weighed as much as small dogs were now bleating right at her face was unbelievable in itself.

" _ **Bluuura bleee aaaay ruuuuu raaaaru aaaaara weeeee**_ (Well I would think so, otherwise she would have attacked us. By the way, my name is Quara)," the one with four spots on the frill introduced.

" _ **Reeera**_! (Territia!)" her sister went.

" _ **Raaaaaata**_ (I'm Beta)," the one with two spots greeted.

" _ **Riiiima rei**_ (Call me Prima)," said the youngling with only one spot on the frill. " _ **Cuuuuuuuura braaaaaa? Riiiiii yaaaaaa cruuuuu? Cruuuu raaaaaa riiiii kuuuu? Riiii raaa? Craaa riiiii?**_ (Where are you from? Do you eat plants? What's that thing on your back? What are you holding there? Can I touch it?)"

Hanna cried in surprise at how eager these little dinosaurs were at her. She was not frightened of them, mostly because the older individuals around her were not afraid, but the attention she was getting was overwhelming. These four younglings were all like excited dogs at her; wagging tails and all. They jumped up and down too, which made her legs ache with the little stomping they were doing.

"Uh, sorry little dinosaurs. I can't understand any of you. Could-could you settle down please?" she kindly asked them but with little success.

Except for the _Protoceratops_ , the other younglings obeyed her. They backed away a few steps to give the newcomer some space. Unfortunately, the ceratopsian sisters were too excited to see that. They just kept prodding her for answers and requests to play.

"Oh dear…" Daisy approached the astounded 17 year old. She retrieved a small contraption in her skirt pocket before showing the device to her in her palm. Presented in her hand was one of those Communicators her sister tried to give to her before. She did not know this, but Daisy carried at least one Communicator with her in case of emergencies. "These girls are stubborn. They won't give up until they get at least some of their questions answered."

The Veran sibling obliged and took the hearing aid. Some quick fumbling and the device was situated in her right ear.

"Now what?" she asked while trying to gently push away each of the little ceratopsians.

"Press the button," replied the vet.

Hanna felt for the button that the prodigy told her. It took a bit of effort from the rough-housing the _Protoceratops_ were pulling on her. Her index finger felt a button in the middle of the hearing aid. She pressed it; her ears listened for the soft whirring sound.

Her eyes bulged when the barking and bleating suddenly turned into words.

" _ **BLAAR**_ \- Can we play? Please please please please please please?" the one with a single spot on the frill begged.

"Carry me in your skinny sack thing!" went her two spotted sister, who went around admiring the quiver on her back.

"I want to play with her black tail on her head!" the three-spotted youngling laughed as she kept jumping up and down on the girl's lap. Her beak gently touched the braid that hung over the girl's shoulder.

Quara frowned. "Hey no fair! I wanted to try that first!"

Hanna gasped and stood upright, much to the shock of the _Protoceratops_ that surrounded her. They grunted when they rudely landed back on the ground. "Holy oh my God! They're talking!"

The Grecian woman nodded in satisfaction and apologized to the younglings for the reaction. "There we go. That's better. Also, my apologies."

Said children were busy with recovering from the girl's shock to even reply to that.

"They're talking in English!" she gawked at each of the slender-horned faced children. "How is this possible!?"

It was at that moment that the engineer chose to answer. He quickly closed the panel of the now finished White Noise Cannon and turned to face the shocked Hanna. He stood up to pat the wrinkles from his pants before replying.

"Park technology," he started with a wink. "It's a world secret. But if you must know, it's made out of the same material as the Time Poles. I would tell you the schematics, but that would make you fall asleep."

Hanna slowly turned her gaze back at the cute little ceratopsians that surprisingly quieted down as soon as he started talking. While they were a bit rambunctious, they looked adorable to her. "Unbelievable…"

"These things can also translate modern day animal speech too...but only a few of them can't be translated," he continued. "That includes some pets, domesticated livestock, bugs, rodents, and some fish. Otherwise, they work on most animals."

"Can they work outside of the park in the present?" she inquired, her curiosity piqued.

Ellis twerked a bit at how vague the inquiry was. "They can, but we'd have to set up some kind of a hotspot. These things are programmed to lose functionality when outside the park boundaries. It's a security measure, or so my brother told me. They're really supposed to stay inside the park. It's to protect the place and all from being revealed."

Hanna's eyes lit up in understanding. "Okay… Is there anyone else on the outside that knows about it?"

Chris lifted a finger up, grabbing the attention of the inquisitive teenager. Everyone was surprised that he was listening in on a conversation like this. He seemed like he was trying to go to sleep. "Before you snuck into the place, you ever heard of Prehistoric Park? It was a TV show."

The girl shook her head. Hanna was not into watching nature documentaries or anything related to animals, non-fictional or otherwise. That was her sister's department. "Not really."

"Well kid, I got news for you," he explained with just the movements of his hands. "Prehistoric Park is a secret to everyone. The ones who did watch the show, at least when it was still running, knew it as a TV series. I think Nigel gave up on the series; I heard it was due to some show called _Primeval_ taking all the thunder. I heard that some of the Keepers were disappointed that a Fictional show about dinosaurs, mammals, and future creatures was favored against our 'Fictional' show about dinosaurs. Knowing Nigel from the short time I've been with the park, anything is possible. The only people who know this place as what it is would be all of the employees."

Hanna nodded in acknowledgement of his explanation. "I see."

"The park took a lot of measures to make sure word of this place doesn't go to the public. But if you ask me," he chuckled with a bit of dark amusement. "It's only a matter of time before this place gets discovered, whether it's by accident or pure intention."

While the younglings had no idea what was going on, they were curious as to what the head keeper was saying. Their heads turned to the resting Filipino, their ears focused on what he was explaining to the other human. Neither of them understood his vocabulary nor what he was really talking about.

Daisy quickly turned at him. Her face lit up with anger at how blatant he stated the worst possible outcome, one that would never happen as long as everyone was careful. "Chris! "

"What? I'm just saying."

She shook her head in disapproval. His pessimism was starting to look like an incurable disease to everyone.

While none of the younglings knew what was really happening, they reverted back to their goal on trying to interact with the younger Veran sibling. The _Protoceratops_ sisters made the first move, commenting on how boring and uptight their "guardian" was being towards them and everyone else.

"Okay...well that guy's always been weird. He's no fun to play with either," Beta commented in disgust, silently sticking her tongue at him behind his back.

Quara hopped against Hanna's leg, shifting her balance by a bit. "So...do you want to play?"

Hanna stammered by the request to little one made. "Uh...I…"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Daisy kneel beside her. She glanced over to see her calm gaze. The vet gestured her hand to the younglings. Hanna was still surprised, but somehow, she knew she could trust her.

"It's okay. You can pet them. They won't hurt you."

Although the archer was still speechless from being surrounded by these baby dinosaurs, she had not found anything despicable about these people. They seem like they were trying to help her. Without hesitation, she took up on the vet's word. Hanna placed her hand on one of the frills of the _Protoceratops_. More specifically, she touched the one that had all four spots on the natural head shield.

She was surprised at how smooth it was. Sure it was bony, but the skin was oddly sleek. The miniature scales kissed her fingers. The natural warmth from the creature was something she found comforting, along with the reactions of her reveling in her touch.

Hanna moved her hand to the back of the neck, where she stroked it. The bony feel switched to what felt like soft leather, except with a few wrinkles here and there. Quara smiled and cooed as the human's fingers softly dug into her hide to get at an itch she could not easily get.

A smile creased on her face. A laugh escaped from her throat. The innocent looks these dinosaurs were giving her and the affection she was receiving betrayed any hostility she thought these Residents had. Her sister was right. They were not so bad. If given respect, they will respect you in return. And just being able to interact with creatures that went extinct long ago...it was like a miracle. Maybe there was something more to her sister's choice of being with them.

Suddenly, each one of them became alert when unnatural sounds reached their ears. Or, in the case of Chris, Ellis, and Hanna, felt their pockets rumble. The sounds of chimes and bells rang in the air. All of them reached into their pockets to pull out their phones.

Their eyes furrowed when they saw a text message from Hazel.

"My sister sent me a text?" said Hanna, seeing that the first few sentences were cut off. It seemed to be a long message. And it was still mind-boggling that there was a local hotspot in this park that would allow one to send localized messages to everyone in the sanctuary.

"Oh you too?" commented Ellis as he opened the message. "I just got one."

" _Kai egó epísis_ (Me as well)," Daisy agreed and did the same.

Chris opened his message. Since everyone was silently reading their message, he took the liberty of reading it aloud. This was just to make sure that everyone's message was the same…and so that everyone understood.

" _ **Chris, Daisy, Ellis, and Hanna**_ ," he began to read.

" _ **Apologies for the last minute addition to your schedules. With the winter season coming, everyone needs to be prepared. You along with a few others have not had too much exposure with surviving in prehistoric times. You will be undergoing training to heighten your physical abilities, as well as emphasizing your strengths and improving your weaknesses. I will send out separate messages to the other new recruits regarding their training.**_

 _ **You are required to meet outside the bistro at 8:00 AM tomorrow. Your trainer will meet you there. He will train you until the start of the winter season. Or until he deems you ready.**_

 _ **I suggest you bring something to defend yourself. Stun guns should be set at a low voltage for training. I do not recommend using a tranquilizer gun. We need to save on our darts. Pocket knives are allowed so long as you exercise caution. Ellis, I suggest you bring your toolkit and something that needs major fixing. Daisy, bring your first aid kit and maybe a training dummy.**_

 _ **Hanna, while you are not a park employee, you need to attend this too. I don't care if you are told not to go. I know our mother won't be happy about this, but we need your skills in this. Everyone needs to prepare for winter. I suggest you bring your bow and arrows to these sessions. In addition, I know you are capable of making arrows so I suggest you make some for tomorrow. Don't use the arrows from the present. You may need them for later. Don't let me down.**_

 _ **Attendance is vital. I expect you all to attend your training sessions. I have arranged your training to fit into your daily schedules. You are to go through this training every morning, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM or, as a good marker, until lunchtime. Failure to attend will result in consequences. Believe me when I say, your trainer has little patience for one-sided deals**_."

" _ **From Hazel**_ ," he then noticed one last note she left there. " _ **P.S. Wear the proper attire and bring some extra food and water. You're going to need it. Most importantly, don't make your trainer angry.**_ "

The expert zoologist scoffed as he put his phone on his chest. "So she's having us go through some training? I never thought she would give an order like that."

"She's talking about physical activity…right?" Ellis said, showing every indication on how uncomfortable he felt about this. "Me and exercise don't exactly mix well."

Daisy raised her hands in a calming motion, trying to be optimistic. "Now let's not get ahead of ourselves. Maybe this won't be so bad. She said this trainer will work on our strengths and weaknesses."

The engineer slammed his hands on the prehistoric grass. "Yeah, on your body! She said we need to prepare for winter! She's going to put us through a workout!"

"While I question my sister's decision, I think this may be good for all of us. If these winters are really bad, then we need to be ready. I don't mind doing some physical activity. It beats doing nothing," replied the surprisingly confident Hanna. It was true; all she was doing since their arrival in the park was sit in the bistro or in their room. It was boring. She may not be used to the Residents, but doing something active would help get her mind off of the impending winter, at least temporarily.

The one that was lying down whistled his sarcasm. "Wow Veran lite. You're being optimistic about this."

The girl gave him a glare. "Well who knows? Maybe our trainer will help us."

"Who is he anyway?" wondered the vet prodigy. "A senior employee?"

The Seattle denizen hoisted himself up to a sitting position. His eyes set on the people around him, even the younglings that remained quiet during the whole conversation. "It has to be. It's got to be someone who's gone on several missions, or at least had some good experience with surviving in the wild."

While Hanna was happy that she was finally going to get something to do, albeit a bit unclear, her thoughts went to where their new "coach" was going to take them on their sessions. The athletic teenager worried about the conditions he was going to put them through. Will they be harsh? Will he make them work out in the bitter cold should they fail in these next few weeks? Or worse…

"Is he going to train us outside the park where all the predators are?"

Chris made a slight laugh that was unlike his aloof self. "I doubt it. If he does plan that, then he's really crazy. I'd better get my last will ready by tonight."

"Now let's not be hasty," Daisy lightheartedly laughed. "Like Hanna said, we may need this more than we know."

"Well I'll only attend because I don't want to get in trouble here," Ellis surprisingly remarked. The engineer may be lazy, but he was efficient should he need be. His antics could be the norm back in Prehistoric Park, but this was the Late Cretaceous. "I'll try it out. But if it's not to my liking, I'm dropping out. I don't care if she yells in my face."

None of the department heads or Hanna spoke more on the subject for the rest of the afternoon. Why Hazel would request something of this was curious. True, she wants everyone to toughen up a little bit, but this posed so many questions. Why couldn't she train them herself? What were they really going to do? Did they know this trainer? Were their sessions going to be safe? Who else was going to go through with this? Were they the only ones? Did someone suggest this to her?

The questions just kept piling up the more they thought about it. Still wondering about what tomorrow would bring, they continued their daily jobs to try to lessen their stress. In Hanna's case, she played with the younglings for a little bit before leaving to do her own assignment. As an archer, she was taught how to make her own arrows by her coach. The reason being is sometimes, if she wanted to do some practice shooting, it may be best to use makeshift arrows rather than ones from the store. Not only does it save on money, but it keeps the tradition of making the other half of the weapon use alive. The arrows are not that hard to make, but gathering the needed supplies may be a bit difficult. Some twine, sharp stones, some wooden rods, a stone sharpener or a bowie knife, and some feathers. It will take her a whole afternoon to make a good bundle; an evening if she wished to make more or if she ran into complications.

Whatever Hazel had planned had better be worth their time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Outside the storage warehouse…

Hazel exhaled sharply. Her back ached from slouching on a pile of boxes in the storage warehouse behind her. The garage-like building was pretty much quiet, save for the few employees that would come in to use some needed supplies. Other than the bistro and the Barracks, this was one of the only places a person could go to take a break. Not many people would come here unless there was an emergency of some sort.

She actually came here to take a break from the stress she was going through the day. First running the park as its leader and helping the employees where her aid was needed, informing the Residents and the visiting herd of the predators being released, speaking to the carnivores about the rules (just as reminders), and just trying to get her mind off of her mother being in the vicinity in general. The list did not end there either.

She took out her phone to look at the notepad app she had. She rolled her eyes when she saw that there were still a few things that needed to be done.

 **Calming the stressed** _ **Ornithomimus**_ **,** _ **Plateosaurus**_ **,** _ **Triceratops**_ **,** _ **Stegosaurus**_ **, and the** _ **Dilophosaurus**_ **about the encroaching cold as well as any other Resident about their concerns regarding the release of the carnivores.**

 **Overseeing the application of security in the storage warehouse, especially on the food. Any break-ins need to be prevented.**

 **Have some employees bring in some lumber from the forest to the Therizinosaur Tribe when they return. Use some of the wood for firewood**

Only three things, but each one was easier said than done. The few Residents that were still stressed will need a lot of convincing. She would need to enlist the help of a few employees to help out. Most of these Residents were not adapted to cold temperatures. Or if they had more than enough body fat to keep them decently warm, they would not be used to the chilly climate. Everyone else was just going to be a lot of work.

The storage warehouse was connected to the food storage. Everything here as well as the food facility needed to have security measures put in. With winter coming, anyone would have the urge to hoard food like bears preparing for hibernation. Or they would binge eat. A good motion-detector system and some security cameras should do the trick for now. Security would increase when winter gets closer.

Then there was firewood. The park needed to start gathering some for the upcoming winter. From her visit to Bruno and his Tribe earlier, they requested something else to help with sharpening their claws other than trimming the trees in their enclosure. Getting large logs for them to trim may actually be a good idea. They could help with chopping up the firewood while keeping them happy. Already, she noted that she needed to put in scheduled expeditions for any wood, other food and rocks.

Someone did suggest to her that they could use the waste the Residents make as an energy source. The idea was sound and seemed like a good alternative. There were businesses in the present that used animal fecal matter as a renewable resource, especially for thermal energy. She would have to explore that idea at a later time. Right now, the park needed to build up on some resources.

For now, she needed to attend to the tasks at hand.

"Okay, break time's over," she flexed her arms of the muscle tension they had. "At least I don't have any forms to go over today."

Before she could go and resume her dailies of the day, a large brown object came up on her right. She looked over and came face to face with a certain wooly mammoth.

"Hazel! There you are. I've been looking for you," Martha stopped before her. Her face filled with slight relief.

"Hi Martha. Is everything okay?" Hazel returned the gesture.

"Well…yes and no," she replied in a so-so manner. "Everyone may be worried about the cold, but you knowing my kind, we are adapted to such things. I am not bothered by the incoming winter, though I do worry about everybody else."

She was not wrong. Martha came from a time that was dominated by cold temperatures for most of the year. The huge amount of fur and body mass meant that keeping warm would not be a problem for her. With the upcoming winter, she and the resident wooly rhino may be the only ones that would appreciate the climate change. But her showing concern for everyone else was a selfless side of her.

"Don't worry. We're doing our best to prepare for the winter season. We'll make it through these four months in one piece."

"I hope so," her face fell to uncertainty.

"Martha? What's the matter?" inquired the Filipino in the change of behavior.

"Oh…there's something you may need to know," the Ice Age denizen laughed nervously. "I recently found out myself and...well...I think it's better if you see for yourself."

The woman put her hands on her hips. "What are you talking about?"

The winter-adapted elephant looked behind her. Her trunk stretched to her back, beckoning something to come forward. The creature that came out from behind her leg made Hazel go bug-eyed. Following that was a face palm.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me…" she groaned at the young grey mammal that revealed herself.

"Hehe…hi Hazel," Mikiya grinned sheepishly while waving her trunk slowly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Flashback**_ …earlier that day

The whole of Temporary Park was in a frenzy at this point, either from the incoming winter or the fact that the predators were going to roam around now. The predators being out did bring natural fear, but for the temperature change, a couple of the Residents found it to be fine. For Martha, these conditions were like a breath of fresh air. For too long the Mammoth had to endure the African sun, but now with winter properly setting in around the area, Martha had a chance to revel in the familiar chill in the air that her species was specially adapted for. Of course, it was thanks to her species' special traits that she and others adapted to the cold had to assist the humans in their patrol of their temporary home. It was a good compromise.

Many of the Residents had to unpack their supplies, if any, that they brought from the previous day. They brought enrichment items, specialized foods, and other miscellaneous tools that helped them cope and care for their being.

Martha personally had some paints and canvas that some of her more artistically inclined sisters urged her to take in an attempt to see the era the mammoth landed in through art. However, it didn't help that Martha could barely create stick figures, let alone draw her surroundings, but it was the thought that counts. She also had some barber supplies to assist in keeping her hair trimmed; a moot point now, thanks to accidently landing in winter. She even had a few exotic fruits she brought along in a large crate the size of a small shipping container that contained the majority of her food. Speaking of which, she was craving some of her stock at the moment.

"Now where are you?" Martha murmured as she popped the top off the large fruit container. "I swear I brought some sugar cane with me…"

As she reached into the container, her trunk brushed up against something that was _definitely_ alive and breathing. Added to the fact that as soon as she touched the being, it squeaked in surprise. Widening her eyes, Martha swiftly withdrew her trunk and stood back cautiously.

"You are in my belongings. Get out!" The Mammoth commanded.

Another squeak was heard, but other than that, no other response. Martha then narrowed her eyes. She then went to the other side of the container with purpose and braced her curved tusks against the metal side. With little effort, the Ice Age mega-fauna shoved the food container, toppling it over and spilling its contents.

"AH! OOF!"

Rolling out among the delectable fruits and bales of hay was a youngling that she thought was left behind at Prehistoric Park.

"MIKIYA?!" Martha rumbled in surprise. The young calf clambered up to her feet and was at least aware enough to show guilt on her features.

"Heheheh… Hi Auntie Martha," the usually exuberant elephant calf started. " _Surprise_?"

"Wha—How did you get here child?!"

The little pachyderm shuffled nervously on her feet before speaking up.

"Um… You know when the humans were packing your things at the elephant house?" Little Mikiya squeaked.

"Yes…" Martha evenly said.

"I helped out in packing some of your food in the crate. And while I was moving some stuff around, some of the Keepers must have thought they were done packing and closed the doors on me." Mikiya revealed.

"Then why didn't you speak up and try to get out?"

"I did think about that," the calf answered. "But then I thought about the field trip through the Rift again. I wanted to see a new place with my friends, so I decided to keep quiet until we reached here. You just found me before I could speak up."

"BY EVERY SPIRITS' NAME!" Martha trumpeted in rare frustration, making the little calf jump. "What you did was stupid Mikiya! Not only did you sneak into my things, but I KNOW you did this without your mother knowing. You mother will have my tusks by the end of this…" Martha muttered her last sentence to herself.

She shook off her bout of dread and firmly gripped Mikiya by her ear. The two pachyderms made their way outside to inform the Keepers of their unexpected stowaway, and to inform Hazel as well.

 _ **End Flashback…**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hazel rubbed her temples. Martha's explanation was not that long, but it was certainly troublesome. A headache had been forming with this new development. She was stressed from the trouble the park was having, the social anxiety among the Residents and the visiting herd, and her familial problems. Now she had to worry about looking after a young African elephant that apparently stowed away into this place.

While Martha's discovery occurred earlier in the day, she was curious as to why she was not informed of this development. Sure, the mammoth explained the situation to some of the keepers they came across, as well as some of the Residents they met, who were albeit surprised at her arrival. Those keepers planned on telling her, according to the mammoth. But the fact that nobody informed her was just pure incompetence. She needed to send everyone a complaint about this later.

Her lessons with looking after the African elephants with Suzanne and Nigel ran fresh in her mind after all this time. Their habitat consisted of savannas, woods, mountains, and tropical rainforests. While Africa was a warm continent with cool temperatures in parts of the year, elephants were hardy creatures. Most people would not realize that they could tolerate temperatures that can drop below zero degrees, at least for a short amount of time. The wintry conditions of the United States as well as in Africa were temperatures that they were fine with.

Mikiya may be young and can perhaps tolerate this change in weather, but this meant that she needed to be looked after. There was no separate enclosure for her. Maybe she could room with the Valley Herd in their warming tents. It was a good possibility, but that meant she needed to be watched over by the vets in case she got sick. The winters in Alaska were most likely going to be too harsh for an African elephant.

"You snuck into this place without anyone's knowledge!?" Hazel's eyes twitched at the move the young elephant made.

The matriarch's daughter fell sullen. "Yes…"

"Are you crazy!? Don't you know what kind of a mess you got yourself into!? We're in the middle of a weather/temporal crisis! Also, does your mother know about this? When she finds out that her daughter is missing, she's going to have all of our heads! I bet she's giving Nigel a mouthful now! She's most likely furious!"

The little grey calf whimpered before putting a brave face on. "I'm sorry Hazel! But I wanted to see where you were going! I never get to go out of the park. I want to go on an adventure, just like you! My family is always staying in the park borders and Mama keeps throwing all of her dumb lessons of leading a herd on me! It's boring! And I won't be seeing my friends for 2 years! I wanted to go with them too!"

Hazel was surprised at the amount of courage she had. Mikiya was rambunctious and was capable of causing trouble, but to stand up like this? Now that was new. The leader of Temporary Park may be frustrated at her decision, but she could not help but admire her tenacity.

The human closed her eyes and leveled her breathing. Her voice softened to an even state. "What do I do with you?"

"Hazel, we can't send her back," Martha told her. "Given the displacement we are in, there is no way to reconnect with Prehistoric Park."

Hazel sighed. "I know."

Her gaze fell on Mikiya. She regretted the words she was saying, but she had no choice. "Okay, no use in crying over spilled milk. You're here now. We're going to need to set up a living space for you."

Said elephant calf grinned and jumped in glee. "Yay!"

"But ...I'm going to inform Nigel of your presence here. You may be stuck here for the next four months, but I'm willing to bet your mother will not be pleased when you get back."

"That's okay. I'll deal with her when the time comes. I've been grounded so many times, I'm practically used to it."

The girl nodded. She peered closer to the calf, giving her a warning look. "Okay then. I had nothing to do with your being here, alright? This is all on you."

Mikiya shrugged that off with a smile. "I know."

"Now, I need to get back to work. Martha will give you the rundown of what is going on around here. I'll let some keepers know that you need a place to stay and prepare some amenities for you."

"You go and do what you need to do," said the wooly mammoth. "I will handle this little ball of trouble."

Hazel gave the Ice Age pachyderm a two-fingered salute. With her back now to them, she made her way towards the interior of the park, where her first job on the list was. Behind, she could hear the continued scolding of Martha to the little elephant that came with everyone. Her ears rattled with the trumpeting and loud groaning of the mammoth.

" _Calming the Residents will have to be put on hold. I need to have people get some amenities ready for Mikiya,"_ she noted to herself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Western forest…

Rascal really wanted to ram his head against a rock. If he had the guts to kill himself, he would. But he valued his life so he refrained from doing so.

When he heard that all of the predators were allowed to roam around to save on power, the _Troodon_ was overly pleased. He planned on doing all sorts of pranks on the humans once he was out. Sure, he liked that they kept him fed and gave him his own space, but he liked playing pranks on others. Those pranks, however, only made others upset. His gangster-like attitude severely contrasted anyone else who was of a good nature. Annoying everyone was his cup of tea. Just for the fun of it. This, unfortunately, gave him a bad reputation in the park for being a nuisance. Not that he minded of course.

He had devious tricks planned for the park. But his enthusiasm deflated when he heard that getting his freedom meant that he was going to be supervised. No hurting the Residents, the newcomers, and the humans. Great…just great. He gets to be let out of his little abode but he's got to be babysat by a bunch of humans. At least he was allowed to go out of the park to do his own hunting. The Residents of the park, along with those Alaskan newcomers, were to stay within the park borders while all of the carnivores hunted. That was fine. Less interference meant better chances of getting a meal.

Oh…but hunting outside also meant he had to be supervised by a Resident or two. And what Resident did he get? That damn bird-brain he wished he could shove into Diablo's jaws. Honestly, his antics, always blabbering about, interrupting him whenever he was stalking potential prey, and incorrectly saying his name were making his nerves implode!

And it certainly did not help that the keepers that were following behind them were laughing at his suffering. One time, he saw them exchange those weird leaf things with each other on something related to him.

His hunting would have been easier if it weren't for that Terror Bird constantly talking at the wrong time! He kept talking about random things when he was close to getting a kill! He stalked things from oversized rats to baby two-legged herbivores and even a couple of birds. Every time he got close, Espantos would interrupt with something stupid!

He berated the birdbrain for ruining his hunt, even ended up telling him to shut up while they were out. But considering Espantos, he took it as a game and said it was the quiet game. At least he stayed quiet. About an hour in and he finally found better targets.

Five leaf-eaters taking a bath next to a river.

They may be in prehistoric Alaska, but this place was akin to the conditions he used to live in. The tall trees, the moss all over the place, the sound of birds and other dinosaurs going through the forest, the vast underbrush to go through, the fallen logs and rocks; everything here screamed "my time". It had been a long time since he roamed the wilds of the Late Cretaceous.

Rascal crept slowly through the buses. His feet silently pressed on the ground, making minimal sound. Hit light-footing made it possible for him to quietly traverse the forest. His orange hide accompanied by green stripes allowed him to blend into the forest. One glance at a bush and one would not see a _Troodon_ hiding there, unless they looked closely.

His brown pupils locked onto his targets. Five blue and white colored _Thescelosaurus_ ; bipedal herbivores that ate a lot and can still run fast on a full stomach. There were three adults, all of which were a little bigger than him, and three young ones. The adults would no doubt give him a bit of a hard time if he made a rash move. The babies, on the other hand, were pretty easy, especially the one that was drinking a few feet away from its mother. Unlike the adults, who had smooth skin with little bumps on the back, the younglings had white and brown colored down, much like the _Ornithomimus_ chicks back at the park.

The _Troodon_ wasn't picky with looks. He was hungry and he needed something now.

Rascal crouched down. Some movements in his peripheral vision and he could see some of the humans hiding nearby. He told himself to ignore them. Food was more important than yelling at them.

He focused on the youngling furthest from the group. It was an easy kill. All he needed to do was time his attack right.

Slowly and steadily, he crept closer. He was just one jump away from trapping that youngling. One quick bite at the neck and its dead. The river shrouded any noise he made; the perfect cover.

Rascal opened his jaw. Pillars of saliva dripped in between his teeth. He could taste all that blood in his mouth. That metal robust flavor and the soft, juicy meet meeting his tongue. It had been a long time since he had a fresh meal.

It had been a long time coming. It was time to reacquaint with his predatory side.

"Ooh! New friends! Hi new friends!"

The _Troodon_ tensed up. His jaw snapped shut and his head met the rocky shore. His head throbbed in pain when the tiny sharp rocks met his skin.

The _Thescelosaurus_ yelped at the sudden outburst. They turned around and saw a long-necked hulking figure looking up at the trees. His large beak and wide eyes betrayed a kind of monster to them. They screamed and ran down the shore, the younglings staying in between the group of adults.

Rascal growled in frustration. His dinner went from running down the shore and back into the forest. His ambush strategy went kaput…again!

And it certainly did not make things any better when he heard the laughing. Looking over, he saw the group of humans chattering and laughing amongst themselves. Once again, those leafy greens were being exchanged between them. The ones that were giving up those greens were unhappy, but not for very long.

Rascal bolted upright. He turned to meet the Terror Bird that was now looking down at him. His smile was still plastered on his beak.

"You jackass!" he berated. "That was my dinner!"

"Oh, sorry," Espantos lifted his mini wings in an apologetic manner. "I was trying to talk to the little birdies on the tops of the trees. They flew away before I could start a conversation. Oh well, I guess they weren't in the mood to talk."

"Didn't you see the plant eaters I was stalking!?" Rascal ranted. "For a hypercarnivore, you're so freaking stupid! Can't you at least help with hunting instead of trying to be buddy-buddy with everything you see?"

"Oh? We were hunting?" the bird brain cocked his head.

The _Troodon_ griped something inaudibly before raging once more. He paced back and forth between the Terror Bird and the shore as he went about his tirade. "YES! Idiot! You know, the only reason why I haven't gone feral on you is because this is the first time I've been out in a while! I'm only tolerating you because 1) I'm in an unknown turf so I have no idea what to expect and 2) Even if I wanted to cause trouble, I can't because we're all going to die if any of us screw up!"

When he turned to face the Terror Bird again, he was flabbergasted, and furious, that he had been looking towards the forest rather than him. Rage building up, the _Troodon_ screeched angrily.

"Are you even listening to me!?"

Suddenly, Espantos bolted back into the forest. Rascal stood there, too stunned for words on what had just happened. The idiot bird brain left him there. No explanation. After all that ranting, he just ran off.

Rascal immediately thought his feelings were hurt. He huffed and looked away. Slight satisfaction and a hint of disbelief lingered in his insides. Good…at least he got the message. It was about time someone taught him a lesson.

His curiosity went up when he heard screeching and squealing in the brush. The sounds of a scuffle along with a rasping sound reached his ears. They were loud and distressed. Rascal wondered what that was. The last he checked, there were no other creatures around. Then again, that last check was a while ago.

The _Troodon's_ senses went on high alert when another smell wafted in the air. That familiar metallic, irony smell; something he was surprised to get. It was blood.

 _ ***PLOP***_

The orange _Troodon_ jumped in surprise. His feet landed in the cold water. Chilly water met his skin, making him shiver. That was not his immediate concern as he was too focused on what just landed in front of him.

It was small, about a quarter of his size. It was covered in dark brown feather-down with larger feather spines going along the tail. Its head had a round, sloping dome crest with small studded horns. The arms looked gimpy with tiny claws. Its beak was stout like a tiny parrot. It was bipedal from the body structure; the legs looked strong too. It was probably a fast runner.

Rascal had encountered several dinosaurs in his own time period, but from his perspective, he was looking at one of those dome-heads; a pachycephalosaur. This one lacked the large horn ornamentations of those _Stygimolochs_ back at the park.

The humans that tailed him got close. Questions of the identity over the creature arose. While Rascal did not pay too much attention to their chatter, he heard from one of them that this was an _Alaskacephale_. Rascal rolled his eyes. A dome head was a dome head. And this one was his meal.

A giant avian with a sledgehammer-like beak peeked out from the brush. Rascal and the humans watched as he bent back down to grab something in his beak. Retreating to the shore back-first, he came out dragging a larger _Alaskacephale_ by the tail. The keepers that went on this expedition fell silent at the catch Espantos got.

He had just caught a mother and a child.

"Okay…" the surprised Rascal said, still looking at the carcasses he brought in.

The Terror Bird stopped next to him and gave him a smile. "Dinner to go!"

Rascal could not believe it. For a bird brain that was out of his time and the most random thing he knew, he was a deadly hunter. How can something so zany be so dangerous? Seriously, what made this guy tick?

The lithe hunter shook his head. Whatever made this guy the way he was, it wasn't his business. All he wanted was to get his fill. The _Troodon_ gestured the humans to get the carcasses and load them onto their vehicles. At least these guys were competent in carrying their food for them.

The troublemaker of Prehistoric Park said nothing else as they traveled back to the sanctuary. But had he been paying any more attention, he would have seen that something had been hiding behind one of the logs down the shore. A light blue shape with a grey face and amber eyes blinked at the gaps of the log's twigs before disappearing back into the woods.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the other side of the park…

Terrence and Matilda entered their enclosure, returning from their expedition around the outskirts of Temporary Park. The keepers that accompanied them dispersed to handle their other jobs around the park. Unlike the other free-roaming carnivores, who were busy with hunting outside the borders of the park, the rexes decided to just acquaint themselves with their surroundings. Part of the reason was due to having eaten a while ago. The reason was they wanted to familiarize themselves with this new territory.

Their results were agreeable...for the most part. Except for the encroaching cold, this place was okay for them. Actually, the cold was something they could adapt to within a short amount of time. Their huge size meant it would be harder for them to freeze.

The trees and the brush around the valley provided the perfect cover for them to hunt. Yet, it was also a double edged sword. Closely knit trees would also mean little space for them maneuver around. That was something they needed to keep in mind.

The twins may come from a land that was a bit barren and had some forests, but this park was pretty much during their era. The prey that roamed around, the smell of the native plants, the sounds of the birds, all of it screamed Late Cretaceous. In a way, they were back in their element.

They were quite happy to hear that they were allowed to roam around the park, given the new situation everyone was in. They did not exactly mind the company of a few keepers when they were going about either. The twins pretty much owe them for everything they did. In a way, the humans were like acquaintances, some of which were their friends, especially Nigel and the rest of the senior team, and Hazel too.

It was a bit satisfying when the five keepers that were with them kept close to the predators at all times. Being in a time away from the 21st century, anything in this place could hurt anyone. They may have been armed, but they relied on the rexes for protection. This made the twins feel good; like they were the most feared creatures to walk the earth again.

It had been a while since they last roamed around. The last time they did, it was during that Christmas party months ago. Since that party, they've become friends with some of the wandering herbivores from the valley, as well as some of the other herbivorous Residents. In fact, they've attended nearly all of the underground matches that were held secretly in the past. Some of their friends attended those too.

Even though the park made great efforts in bringing everyone together as a whole, there were still those that feared the park's predators due to their instinctual nature. While they roamed around, a number of the Valley Herd's members as well as pretty much all of the new _Pachyrhinosaurus_ herd just steered clear of them. Terrence and Matilda understood that; not everyone would be agreeable to a carnivore in a single night. Or, in other cases, at all. Besides, the whole park getting used to large carnivores being neighbors and all was still a bit of a ways to go.

Their return to their enclosure brought about a sense of familiarity to them. It was similar to their old enclosure back in Prehistoric Park, but with a few differences. The enclosure was a bit small, but not too small for them. Most of the trees that were planted there were fake, as well as some of the ferns. It would make sense, as the real plants would not last very long in these conditions. At least they were close to the real thing. Rocks dotted the enclosure to enhance the theme of the habitat. A large pond was situated in the very back, with patches of cattails and pond plants to add to the aesthetic.

Then there was the large white tent that was situated over to the left. It was their warming tent, as the humans called it. Inside it was a generator that would warm the whole thing. To them, it was like a white flimsy cave, but it had the capabilities of keeping large Residents warm. The twins didn't mind the out-of-place object, but at least they had someplace to stay in should it get too cold.

"You know, this is kind of fun. Being able to roam around again," Matilda commented.

"Yeah minus the whole 'cold weather' is coming and not everyone likes us being out," Terrence shuddered a bit from a sudden cold breeze that came in.

"You feeling hungry?"

The male rex shook his head before turning back to head to the warming tent for a rest. "Meh, not really."

"You know, now that we're back in the wilds, so to speak, we need to toughen ourselves up. We can't let our guard down while we're here. Pretty much anything can attack us."

Her brother laughed. "Attack? Sis, our kind is the meanest things to walk this time! Everything is afraid of us!"

The fledgling queen eyes furrowed. It was true, in this time period, at least from what they were told, rexes were among the most feared creatures to walk this world. They had little to no natural enemies. Pretty much everything feared them. Their bone-crushing jaws, their ambush tactics, their size, everything about them screamed fear.

But the twins have only been told all that from the information the keepers gave them. They did not know their parents for very long. Their father died not long after they were hatched. Their mother perished at the jaws of another rex when she was trying to protect them. Everything they knew about their kind was pretty limited. Neither of them knew how to hunt like a rex or know how one should act.

Couple that they are in unknown territory and they are at a disadvantage.

"Yeah well that doesn't mean we can't be prepared. What if there's something more dangerous than us out there? You know Diablo? What if there's something bigger than him?" she asked her brother. Her memories of fighting Diablo the _Carnotaurus_ last yearran fresh in her mind.

Her twin merely gave her a smug grin before turning to walk off. His cockiness could be the death of him, and she sensed that. The young queen ran up to him and blocked his way. He stumbled back at the sudden change of behavior. She crouched down, ready to charge at him for an attack.

"Now come on. Hit me with your best shot!" she demanded.

"Sis, I'm not in the mood."

"Doesn't matter! We need to be ready!"

"Nah," he turned to face the other way.

The sight of a slab of meat next to the pond caught his attention. It was the other half of a cow's ribcage, complete with the rest of the muscles still attached to it. No doubt it was one of the leftovers from their meal earlier in the day. His hunger pang ached again; the sight of the meat called for a little snack.

Matilda saw this and thought of something. Her brother can't exactly operate well on an empty stomach. His attention was on that piece of meat. With them being in unknown territory, they needed to be ready.

She ran over to that meat, beating him to it. The rex snatched the slab in her jaws before her twin could get at it. Her brother roared angrily at his sister's sudden greed.

"Hey! I was going to eat that!"

"You want it?" she taunted with a hint of a small smile. "Come take it!"

Terrence chomped on the other end of that meat. The twins engaged in an awe-inspiring, yet thrilling game of tug of war. The two of them took their game all over their open enclosure, stepping on the faux plants and overturning the rocks that were unfortunate to be in their way. The keepers that were nearby gathered at the gates to cheer on them, or to just watch. The few that were there groaned at the amount of work they needed to do on fixing the enclosure.

Little did any of them know that the twins were also being watched. A pair of grey eyes and a brown toothy muzzle peered from the shadows of the Alaskan vegetation. The darkness of fall covered its features. No one could make it out at first glance due to the camouflage of the creature. The stranger continued to watch for a few moments more before turning to retreat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Over in another part of the valley, a certain quartet of predatory mammals was on the move. Much like the other predators in the park, Sabrina and Cesar took to going out for a hunt. Becoming acquainted with the surroundings was on their agenda, and so was filling their bellies. They did not mind the humans that were coming with them either, though Cesar would sometimes complain about them being so slow. But they were there for another reason too.

Tai and Sable are passed the age when they first become hunters. Due to being raised in a park and being protected, they lacked the necessary setting to practice being the hunters nature made them to be. Now with being in a land with unknown creatures as well as the danger of winter, and getting this newfound freedom, the adult Sabers deemed that now was as good as any to teach them how to fend for themselves. This may be their only time to teach them, unless the park back at home would allow them to roam around. The only way to do that would be to show them how to hunt.

Being a _Smilodon_ in the Late Cretaceous had its perks as well as its disadvantages. For one thing, none of the creatures know of their kind, so they do not know what to expect when they are on the hunt. The padded paws of the felines provided them much grace on the forest floor, allowing them to move quietly. Their keen sense of smell as well as their hearing and sight proved useful in tracking prey. However, moving around the trees may pose a problem if they were not careful. Not to mention they were adapted to survive in a savanna, not the Arctic.

Prehistoric Park's cold temperatures are tolerable to the Sabers. But their kind cannot survive in Arctic conditions. Not for very long at least. The fall season is agreeable to them, for now. Once it gets colder, they cannot spend too long out in the cold.

Back in their own time, Sabers would learn how to hunt by practicing on smaller creatures or observing the adults. The opportunity to go out and scour the landscape is a good opportunity as any for the twins to learn how to do so.

But this outing would have gone a little better had Tai and Sable paid more attention to the two adult felines rather than playing with anything they saw.

The cubs were trying Cesar's patience. He was doing his best to teach them everything about hunting, even though he too was out of his element. Hunting in a forest like this is like a fish out of water. They were adapted for the savanna, not an arboreal setting. Everything here was new to them, thus the cubs found the strange and the curious to be something to play with.

It took convincing from Sabrina to get them back on track. A little deal related to helping track down prey would lead to them getting a larger share of the bounty for the night. Since then, Tai and Sable were on high alert for anything that moved; ranging from the large to the tiny. They did not really see anything promising to them for the last hour or so.

It was not until Cesar stopped the group that he found something useful for the cubs.

"Hold up," he told them. The armed humans that walked with them stopped at the huge cat's command.

The male Saber stalked forward a cluster of bushes ahead, his stomach nearly kissing the ground. His claws extended and a low growl rumbled from his throat. His eyes locked onto the creature on the other side of the bushes.

He burst forward at full speed before making a full jump. Upon landing on the other side of the bushes, a loud squeal grated the air. Following that were a series of shrieks and squeaks of something small.

"Kids, get over here," said the male Saber.

The cubs hesitantly glanced at each other before making their way at the bush. The little twigs beneath the bush snapped under their weight. Any leaves that touched their snouts tickled them; Tai sneezed and shook his head as a result of one that lightly brushed his nose. Ducking under and passed the oddly shaped leaves, they made it to a mini clearing. They were surprised at what the adult hunter had under his right paw.

It was a small creature, slightly bigger than a human's hand. It was covered in brown-grey fur while the head was covered in white fur. Its whiskers on its snout stuck out like tiny thorns. It had five toes on each foot, something that was unusual to them. Then there was the tail; it was garishly pinkish in color.

Tai and Sable had never seen this creature before, but they could tell that it looked a little like a rat. One of their toys was in the guise of a rat. However, unlike the toy they had, this one was alive and slim.

A few steps sounded from behind them. One glance back and they saw Sabrina and the four humans that accompanied them. One of them commented on Cesar's catch; an _Alphadon_ was what he called it. The twins listened to him say that these things are common during this time. The mammals in the Mesozoic era were not very big compared to the mammals of the 21st century. In this time period, they were about as big as the rodent the male Saber caught. Then another commented that it looked like a cross between a rat and an opossum…whatever that last one was to the twins.

Cesar had the creature pinned by its tail. The little rodent squealed as it tried to escape its captor's grip. The shrieks were like little nails being dragged across a board.

"There we go. Your first target," Cesar slightly shouted over its screaming.

"But…it's alive," said Tai, cringing at the suffering it was going through.

"Of course it's alive. Meat doesn't grow on trees. We're hunters. We need to kill to get our food."

Sable glanced over at the humans before focusing on the hunter. "But the humans always give us meat."

Cesar's eyes furrowed at how wimpy these cubs were sounding. "Yeah well they may not be able to do that all the time with the crisis we're in. So you two need to get your hunter's instincts in," his gaze fell on Tai, which caused him to tense up. "Tai, you're first."

The male cub gawked. "What?"

"Do what I did and kill it."

He went up to the rat-thing. The humans in the back murmured at how this was going. Then, something had caused them to retreat. A quick inference and he assumed Sabrina told them to look away. For what reason, he had no idea. When he was in front of the whimpering creature, he padded it with a paw. The thing recoiled in terror.

He did the same and protested at the request the hunter asked him to do. "This doesn't seem right," he told him with a shake of his head. "I don't want to kill it."

Cesar's eyes narrowed, as if he were looking at him coldly. Tai held his ground, but deep down, he felt scared. "Are you hungry?"

The cub looked down at his stomach. The familiar tightening of it as well as the rumbles inside gave away the hunter's guess. He was hungry, but killing a creature? No, this did not feel right.

"Well…yes…" he hesitantly answered.

"Then kill it. It's the only way."

Kill. That was something that the twins never thought they would hear from them. They grew up on stories where creatures larger than them would devour others just to sustain themselves. They knew their kind needed to hunt to eat, that much they were aware of. All of those stories Sabrina and Cesar told them about living on the ancient plains of South America painted a picture of ferocious fanged cats ruling the savanna with their hunter's instincts. They never thought how hard this would be. Now they needed to take a life to sustain their own.

For a long time, the humans of the park would feed them and look after them. Now, they were being asked to sustain themselves in the most jarring way.

Sable watched in horror as her brother proceeded to do what he was asked. Both cubs gulped at what was going to happen. Tai knelt down, his fangs just inches away from the quivering creature's nape. He could smell the mustiness of its fur and hear its quickened breathing. Its shaking body kissed his tiny whiskers.

"Do it," Cesar prodded. "Right at the neck."

"Tai…please don't," Sable begged.

Tai gave her no indication of a response. He let out a high-pitched roar. He drove his fangs down into the creature's throat. The thing let out a gasp before succumbing to stillness. It was over in an instant.

The cub whimpered. He could feel its hot blood in his jaws. The iron metallic taste permeated in his jaws. The bits of flesh on his teeth were warm and squishy, much unlike the usual meat the people of Prehistoric Park feed him. The taste was a bit bitter, but it was still meat.

Tai slowly lifted his head up; his fangs that were imbedded into the creature's throat slowly came into view. Instead of being the pristine ivory color they were before, they were now soaked in red blood. His eyes had little bits of tears running down it.

He killed the _Alphadon_ …and it tasted good.

Cesar nodded, satisfied of the first kill the cub made. He let go of the tail and gestured his head down towards it.

"Dig in," he simply said.

Tai gulped. He could not ignore the calling of his stomach. He was so hungry. The Saber child grasped a chunk of flesh and started to tear away at it. Its meat kissed his taste buds. The stringiness of it was akin to that of pork, but the taste was nothing like it. The fur tickled the insides of his mouth, but he ignored it as he kept eating.

Sable stood there, too stunned for words. Her brother just killed that creature. How could he do this?

Sabrina sensed the cub's shock and stepped in. Her stern, yet protective gaze touched her soul. "I know you have been raised differently than us. The humans provided you with food and water. But now, you two must learn to look after yourselves, especially with the cold coming in. There may not be enough food to go around later on. This is what your f...Cesar and I grew up," she said.

Sable did not understand why she hesitated in her sentence. What she was trying to say was anyone's guess. What she did know was that she was uncomfortable for a moment. What was she trying to say?

"We are hunters, not pets," was the next thing she said.

The female cub cringed at that word. Was that what they were acting like the whole time they were at the park? Was that how she thought of her and her twin? Sable felt so ashamed of how she had acted rather than how she was supposed to act.

The she-Saber lowered her head and nudged Sable on her rear, gesturing her towards the kill. "Now…go and eat before your sibling devours the whole thing."

Sable tentatively approached the kill. Her brother was busy eating away at the carcass. She recoiled at the amount of blood that she smelled. He was already halfway into the animal, just now going away at the guts. There was so much gore that it was…too much.

Yet, her stomach ached for sustenance. The smell of blood was intoxicating. The meat looked exotic yet appetizing. She shook away her doubts. She needed food.

Sable crouched down next to her brother and started to dig in too. The cub stomached the taste as best as she could. On this day, two new hunters were born.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning…

The early morning in Alaska was cold, a little colder than yesterday. November in the Late Cretaceous in this state was much like the late fall of the present. The sky was just starting to get lighter; the sun has not met the horizon just yet, but the light blues in the distance started to appear. The Artic chill greeted everyone with its unceremonious embrace. The Residents living outside took shelter in the warming tents that were created for them; even the Valley Herd slept in the warm sanctums to escape the cold. The only exceptions were the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ herd, who were further out in the outskirts and those Residents who came from the Ice Age.

The strange request that Hazel sent out to its intended recipients went through. While there was still some doubt among them, they abided by her order. Daisy, Chris, and even Ellis stood by the bistro under the solar headlight as instructed by the note they were given. All of them came prepared for this training session that the park leader had arranged for them.

Daisy was still dressed in her usual garb, however, she now had black stockings on along with brown leather boots that were a bit worn. At her side was a huge first aid kit and one of the plastic dummies from the storage warehouse. The infirmary and storage always had a few dummies in store for training new recruits on new techniques or as practice for the real thing. While the infirmary was mostly for the Residents, they also needed to be prepared for any human patients, so long as the wounds are not life threatening. This order came in effect last year.

Chris was dressed in a dark grey hoodie with the North Face logo on the top right. He still wore dark denim jeans, however, he now had worn grey and black sneakers. Hoisted over his shoulder by its strap was a stun gun. He was decent with shooting, but he figured he should work on his aiming for this one. The one thing that he brought that surprised everyone there was the metal bat he had in his other hand. Neither Ellis nor Daisy knew he had one. The only thing he told them was he brought it for added defense; he had a relative that played in major league baseball and the bat was a gift for him. He wanted to put some variety into these training sessions and at least include some other form of physical activity, in this case, if they were practicing on dummies, properly hitting them.

Ellis, while he still had his doubts, decided to come along. He was dressed in an orange long-sleeved athletic shirt with a black sports sweater over it. He still retained his favorite jeans and around his waist was his toolbelt. Per Hazel's instructions, he brought along a stun gun, however, it needed some repairing as it was not working properly yesterday. He figured that if he was going to show off his skills, he should at least bring something he was going to use and improve at the same time.

As they were waiting in the coming dawn, they were approached by one more individual off to their right. They took in the form of a teenager wearing an aqua-colored sweatshirt, yoga pants, and hot pink sneakers. Her hair was tied up in a braid, but it had a few strands that were off; it was apparent that she was in a hurry to get it fixed. In her arm was the metal bow she had yesterday. Her quiver was slung over her back, but instead of having modern-day arrows, they now had arrows that had grey and white feathers on the ends.

The girl slowed to a stop, breathing heavily from the running she had to do all the way from the Barracks to here.

"Oh there you are," greeted Daisy. "You're just in time."

"Sorry…" she made deep breaths. "I needed to fix my hair and get my arrows and all."

"Well our trainer isn't here yet. Hazel said 8:00. I wonder where he is."

Ellis shifted his feet after taking a quick look around for any sign of someone else coming. "This guy better not be a hard ass."

"Maybe he's nice like Bob or your brother?" Daisy inquired the engineer.

Chris chuckled lightly, though it sounded a bit sarcastic. "I wouldn't jinx it if I were you. It's still not too late to turn back and run."

The girls shook their heads. Ellis just waved dismissively at him.

"Thanks, but I don't feel like pissing off the boss lady today."

The vet clapped her hands. Her face brightened up a bit at his enthusiasm. "That's the spirit! Who knows? He may be a nice guy."

Before they could talk any more, a shape appeared from the left side of the building. The department heads and the leader's sister fell silent in shock at the huge creature that approached them. At first, they thought it was a carnivore. But when he came towards the light, they relaxed when they saw it to be an _Iguanodon_.

Their comfort zones were thwarted when he stopped before them. His gaze was of steely, grey eyes that looked like they had seen much conflict. A scar ran down his face like the San Andreas Fault. A scowl appeared on his features.

To them, he looked like he was having a bad day.

"Prompt and ready," said the herbivore gruffly. "At least I know you've got guts to go through with this."

The humans were speechless. The note that Hazel sent them said their trainer would meet them by the bistro. They assumed he would be someone seasoned with going through missions and would help in improving their skills. It did not say anything about it being a dinosaur.

"You're…you're our trainer?" Hanna trembled at the size of this guy.

He laughed lightly, like he would be if he were taunting inferior creatures. "No. I'm just the guy that cleans up after everyone's mess," his face changed from light sarcasm to his original scowl. "Of course I'm your trainer!"

The girls stifled a yelp. His sudden outburst nearly made them lose their footing. This dinosaur was to be their coach until their start of winter? How could Hazel do this! She's crazy if she assigned one of the Residents to help them out! He wouldn't know anything about how the human body worked! If anything, whatever this guy had planned would probably kill them in a few minutes!

Ellis gawked before face palming. Next to him, the stunned Chris smirked at the engineer's reaction.

"Still thinking about running?" he whispered to him.

The young man only let out a squeak. No other words escaped his throat except quiet garbles. This was going to be a long autumn…if anyone survived.


	17. Let's Get Down to Business

_**Soundtrack: Dino Western by Paul Leonard-Morgan**_

Earlier that morning…

Hanna quietly crept to the desk nearby, her phone clutched in her hand. The light from the lens in the top right corner illuminated her way in the darkness of the room. The feel of the cold tile floor sent chills through her feet. She shivered as her body tried to reject the icy feel. The rest of her body felt fine as she was dressed in pink and white fleece pajamas.

Per her sister's instruction to a random staff member, Hanna and her mother were shown to one of the spare rooms where they would stay for the duration of their time in Temporary Park. While she was not yet due to graduate for college, Hanna could tell that the room was in the guise of a dorm. The two beds, which were already prepped with sheets, blankets, pillows, and comforters, were lofted; the wooden bars in the front served as makeshift ladders. There was a doorway to the right that led to a small bathroom. A small black fridge was situated in front of the blinds-covered window in the back. Two desks were placed right across from each other, in front of the beds. Also in the room were two sizeable cupboards. The one thing that was recently placed in the room from the day before was a small black heater, which was quietly blowing warm air in the back of the room.

Hanna quietly pulled the chair back and set herself down in front of the wooden desk. She turned her phone on and swiped right; switching over to the camera app. Her face was lit up in the darkness. In the picture, she saw a young adult with long, messy black hair and tired eyes. The silhouette of someone on the opposite bed was barely visible; her mother was still sleeping in the wee hours of the morning.

Rather than go out and explore the place, her mother remained indoors. She refused to see or communicate with the staff or the Residents. Her mother was still traumatized from discovering her eldest daughter's secret life. Not to mention the predators were now roaming around and she truly felt like she was in the set of Jurassic Park. Hanna was the only one to avert that; she interacted with a few of the baby dinosaurs and the department heads the day before. They did not seem so bad. Hanna hoped that her mother would change her mind eventually. The least she did to help her out was to bring in some food for her from the bistro.

Due to being stuck in the distant past, Hanna figured that keeping a video journal would somewhat keep her sanity. If something should happen to her and her mother in the coming weeks, at least she had a way of recording what really happened throughout that time. In addition, keeping a video journal gave her something to do every day.

Hanna took a deep breath before pressing the red button on the video camera option. She saw the seconds start to climb at the top of the screen. She opened her mouth and spoke in a near-whisper.

"Hi everyone, I can't exactly talk too loudly for this. My mom is still sleeping," she glanced back at her mother before returning to the camera. "Whoever finds this phone; well you may or may not know what has happened to me and my mom. Just in case, I'll summarize everything. Just last week, my mom and I went to Johannesburg, South Africa so that I could attend my Olympic tryouts. My sister was there so we had a bit of a reunion. Long story short, I didn't make it, but we did spend some quality time together. My mom got a bit curious and decided to investigate into my sister's life. We snuck into Nigel's jeep and followed them to her job. We got the shock of our lives when we found the park my sister worked in had dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals. Ate Hazel revealed that the place, Prehistoric Park, was created by both Nigel and our dad as a place to rescue and look after extinct animals. Hazel was chosen by Nigel to take his place someday. Mom wasn't too happy about it and my sister and she got into a big fight. My mom wanted her to quit but Ate Hazel was adamant in staying; so adamant that she ran off to get here. We followed her...and we're stuck here with her."

The movement of blankets and the squeaking of a mattress pulled Hanna's attention from the camera. She turned around and tensed up as her mother changed positions on her bed. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found her go still again. While her mother did not vent her frustration at her for going out yesterday, she did not want to deal with any negative mood of hers at the moment.

She returned her focus back on the camera; her left index finger rubbed her left of the dryness that crept in from fatigue.

"So it turns out my sister is the leader of this place, Temporary Park, which is in the Late Cretaceous. When we followed my sister, it was through a time portal that apparently, Prehistoric Park was able to create. And we just recently found out that rather than being in the middle of summer, like everyone here planned, we're in the middle of fall. Again, Mom wasn't too happy about this. We've been given a room and some supplies to help us survive the winter. Anyway, back to the main point."

Hanna breathed again, explaining the events of yesterday. "I went against my mother's warning of going out with all of these prehistoric animals and decided to get some fresh air. Really, I just wanted to go for a walk. I told my mom I would be careful and stay around the buildings. She didn't say anything about it. I kept my bow and arrows...just in case. Let's just say that while I was walking, I wasn't too comfortable with all of the carnivores now roaming around. I eventually made it to the outskirts, where I met the department heads; Chris, Daisy, and Ellis. They introduced me to some of the baby dinosaurs there. It's also where I got my communicator," she pulled her hair back and revealed a peculiar hearing aid in her right ear. For a device that seemed like a hearing aid for a deaf person, this device was surprisingly comfortable. It was so comfortable that she was able to sleep in it.

"Now I can understand them too. Believe me, it was quite a shock. Anyway, while I was getting to know everyone, I got a text from my sister. She was asking us to attend some kind of training this morning. It was something about honing our skills or something. She wanted me to bring my bow and arrows. She's also having some trainer come and coach us. Maybe she wanted to help with improving my archery? I don't know who this guy is, but he seems to be experienced in surviving in dangerous conditions. I didn't really tell my mom about it. She would not be pleased at all."

Hanna shifted in her seat, trying to relieve the stress from her legs from sleeping in the wrong position all night. "I don't know what to expect from this coach, but my sister seems to know what she's doing. She's survived a couple of years without me or my mom, especially in a park full of dinosaurs and even in separate time periods. Maybe this coach knows what he's doing too. I hope he's helpful."

Hanna ended the recording there with the press of the red button. When she returned to the main screen, she nearly jumped out of her seat. It was 7:40 AM. She had twenty minutes to get to the bistro, but not before getting ready.

The archer quickly gathered her things she prepared the previous day. Her arrows that she made yesterday were already in their quiver; her modern day arrows were stashed away in her cupboard. Her backpack was already filled with needed supplies for a workout, like two water bottles, some small snacks, a small towel, and the fingerless workout gloves her mother gave her the other day.

She made herself look as presentable as she could before quietly, but quickly, leaving the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Present time…

Hanna wished she hadn't made that last comment in her video. Seriously, why did the universe like to mess with people? When she expected a coach that could help her and the department heads with improving themselves, she was hoping it was some kind of senior employee that had some experience in working out. She was _not_ expecting a 3 ton dinosaur with a permanent scowl on his face.

She was frozen; that much she knew. It was not just her body or her face being out in the cold. No, it was the creature in front of her. How could her sister assign a dinosaur to be a coach!? Seriously! For the first time since she was reunited with her, she doubted her sister's judgement. How could this guy know how to be a coach to humans? They're two different species! And judging from his looks, he did not look very nice.

" _I take it back. My sister is out of her mind!"_ she screamed in her thoughts.

"So, your leader has assigned me to prepare you for the coming cold weather," said the dinosaur in a deep, gruff voice. "She's told me that you lot, at least most of you," his gaze went to Hanna. She stayed as still as she could, hoping he would not look at her anymore. Thankfully, his staring only lasted for a few seconds before he started pacing in front of them, "haven't done efficiently during your last trip to the past."

Hanna gulped. She had the feeling that her sister may have told him of her. For all she knew, this guy was told that she and her Ate Hazel were siblings. The only thing she was fine with was that at least she was not in the dark when it came to the language barrier. The Communicator was working like a charm.

"Efficiently?" said a peeved Chris Sinclair.

"In her words, she said your performance was 'mediocre.'"

The young man right next to her protested her sister's judgement of them. His anger was apparent in his voice. "Are you serious? She said that?"

"Yes, she has," said the _Iguanodon_ that kept pacing in front of them. Hanna felt uncomfortable; it was as if she was some helpless prey and he was a lion walking patiently for its meal behind its cage bar. "I don't care what you do when it comes to her, but what matters right now is the present. The cold days are coming, and neither of you are prepared for it."

It was at that point that Ellis raised his hand. Hanna, the other two people present, and even the stern herbivore all directed their focus onto the uncertain engineer.

"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to stop you there. We've got heaters and more than enough food to help us through the winter. If we do everything right, we should be okay."

The scarred one inwardly laughed, something that put the young Veran off guard from the strict bravado he was putting up. "That's what you think. What if you're denied all of that? Physically, you all lack the proper experience to fight. That's what I'm here for. I'm going to train you until you are all capable of fending for yourselves."

Daisy stepped forward, her hands on her hips. Her face turned into scrutinizing suspicion. "Train us? How? You don't know how the human body works. What if your techniques end up killing us?"

"I will do my best to make sure you stay alive," he told them all. "The exercises I have planned for you all have been...dulled down to fit your species."

The vet continued her pestering inquiry. "But...why did Hazel choose you? Why not someone else, like another human?"

The huge herbivore made a scoffing snort, her blonde hair blew in the air for a moment like loose reeds. She grimaced at the smell of his breath he gave off. "I'd rather not share my whole life story with you. Let's just say I've had a _lot_ of experience with training for something for a long time. As for her reasons, I don't know. Perhaps it's because everyone is busy. I will say this; the next few weeks for you will be hard. You won't die, but you will most likely hurt. I'm aware of how feeble your kind is. Believe me, I've spent far too much time around your species to know."

Chris took a few steps forward. His peering eyes met Nero's steely grey ones. "Wait a second, now that I get a good look at you, you do look a little familiar. Aren't you the dinosaur that's been picking up on everyone's shit and doing a bunch of other chores around the place?"

The _Iguanodon_ growled, causing the Seattle denizen to go quiet. Even though he looked tough on the outside, Hanna could tell from his eyes that the intimidation worked on him.

However, the next thing he said made her blood boil.

"Now that you mention it, yes," he eyed them all with a hint of pride. "To those who do not know me, I am Nero."

Something in Hanna's mind snapped. Her anger rose like magma in an exploding volcano. She heard that name before. Her mind went back to the explanation her sister gave back in Prehistoric Park of the past couple of years. Nero…she said that name in her story.

The revelation hit her like a brick wall. Her sister nearly drowned in a lake after she revealed to the dinosaur herd in the valley that she knew of their home's destruction. Hanna could tell that she went through much pain from the hesitancy in her explanation. She never went through that sort of thing, but she could sense the emotional torment of the memory. But there was one thing she got from it.

Her sister nearly died that day. And it was all because of the dinosaur that was standing right in front of her.

The archer grabbed an arrow from her quiver. She quickly notched it and aimed it at the beast's only good eye. The other humans around her reacted in gasps and outbursts at her sudden decision.

"You! You're the one that hurt my sister and put her in the hospital!" she yelled at him.

Her mind was filled with a cacophony of voices that were telling her one thing; Shoot him. Make him pay for hurting her. Hanna did not object to any of those, but she wanted to hear him make his plea. She wanted him to beg for mercy for hurting her kin. He nearly killed her sister that day; it was only fitting that he suffers for it.

Rather than backing away in fear, however, Nero remained stationary. His eyes, or in this case, his one good one, focused on the weapon in her hands. He inspected the semi-circle contraption with the tight vine and the sharpened twig. If he had any fear, he did not show it. And that made her angrier.

Just then, movement from her left resulted in her bow to be quickly lowered. Hanna gasped at Ellis, who was trying to stop her from taking vengeance.

"Hey Hanna, lay off," he said, pushing her arms down. She fought his strength to keep her arms up. "You don't want to do this."

The girl shoved him away, causing him to collide with Daisy, who put him back up. Her arms adjusted to the bow again and she took aim at Nero once more.

"She told me about you!" her rage-filled voice rang in everyone's ears. "My sister may not be perfect, but she didn't deserve to have her bones broken, nearly drowned, and be put into a coma! How dare you punish her that way!"

Nero's eyes narrowed. While she could not tell if he was angry or not through that scowl, Hanna could assume she hit a nerve when he gritted his teeth. She prepared herself for whatever was going to happen. If he was going to attack her, she would just roll out of the way and fire at him. And she was going to make sure it was going to hurt.

She certainly did not care about what everyone else thought either. Hanna did not need to look, but she could tell that they were flabbergasted at the revelation she made. Their leader getting attacked by the very dinosaur that was asked to train them was outrageous! He must have hit her sister hard to make her appoint him as their coach. For all she knew, she may have suffered some kind of brain damage from that attack!

Shockingly, Nero did not make a move on her. All he did was stare at the human…and speak to her in a justified manner. "I see she's told you that tidbit about me. Yes, I attacked her, but only because she refused to tell us of our former home's destruction. Her silence on the matter got her exiled from the herd. It was her mistake that led to her downfall."

Hanna drew her arrow back further on the intention to make the arrow go deep into his eye; so deep that it would reach his brain. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot your other eye," she then glanced at his chest area before looking back at the hidden guilt on his face, "or shoot your heart."

The prehistoric defendant sighed. His scowl softened to one of indifference. "We have all made mistakes in the past. Your sister made up for hers while I...am nowhere near redemption."

"Spare me the sappy bits," she rebuked with venom in her voice. "Why should I trust you? Why should any of us trust you? For all we know, you're out to punish us for putting you through your punishment in the park."

Nero approached her. He leaned his narrow muzzle down until they were at eye level. She stared at that scar ridden face. Those eyes…while they were grey and filled with hidden anger, they also had something that she did not expect. His softened expression was that of guilt. The scowl disappeared, even if it was only for a moment.

While he appeared to be apologetic, she did not want to take any chances. She kept her grip tight on her arrow in case she needed to attack.

"Because human, I am the only thing that can help you survive. I have survived in dangers your kind would not live through. I have trained until my body gave way from the stress. I have seen things that you or anyone would find horrifying. So I don't care if you hate me. But if I were you, I would think more on what's important. The cold days are coming...and you need to be prepared."

Hanna felt her arms relax. She willed them to pull themselves up again, but found that she could not. Why was she letting her guard down? This was the very creature that almost killed her big sister! And now she was showing mercy?

She thought more on why she was acting this way…and what he told her. He did not care about her sympathy. He did not ask for her forgiveness at all. That may be just him, but perhaps it was because he was trying to escape the past. He must have been feeling so guilty about that time if he was trying to move forward. He did endure punishment for a year because of that.

Hanna's sister survived that ordeal she spoke of. If this was the dinosaur that almost killed her, then why does she trust him now? Why didn't she punish him by sending him to another time?

Her sister always had her reasons. And she forgave him for his actions. Hazel did mention that even though he was not a perfect citizen of the park, he more than made up for it. She gave him another chance. Was he trying to make up for his cruelty back then by trying to help her and the others?

Hanna let her arms relax. Her arrow was quickly returned to its quiver. Chris said that he helped around the park with the other staff members' chores. Maybe there were some good qualities about him.

Regardless, she needed to stay on guard. The only reason why she was sparing him was in honor of her sister's decision. If he chose to betray them all in any shape or form, she was going to shoot his eye out.

Nero huffed, not showing the least bit of relief of being spared. He looked over at everyone else, his voice louder this time.

"That goes for the rest of you. Your leader asked me to train you all, and that is what I'm going to do."

He then looked back at Hanna. Her fingers were playing with the bow that they held. "Your weapon intrigues me. I would like to see you use it later today."

"Don't make me use it on you," she warned darkly.

"I will keep that in mind," he replied before returning his attention to the whole group. "Now, for the first thing on our agenda, let's start off with a warm up. Drop your weapons."

Everyone stared at the dinosaur coach confused. None of them said a word as they tried to process the request he just gave them. How he learned that phrase was the least of their worries. Why he was having them do that was the pressing matter.

"What?" Ellis asked, bug-eyed.

"You heard me. Drop...your...weapons," he reiterated slowly.

"But we need them to protect ourselves!" the engineer objected, thinking of the dangers that could be roaming around the park. "And didn't you say that we were going to train with them?"

"Yes, but right now, you won't need them."

While they were still hesitant on giving up the items that could defend them, they did as he said. They made a short discussion amongst themselves, which ended up resulting in them going to the inside of the dark cafe. One by one, they left their equipment nearby the breezeway of the cafe. Ellis had to tell the head chef inside that they were leaving their items there for safekeeping and would come back for them later. He gave no objection to that.

Out of the whole group who was leaving the cafe for the outside, Hanna was the one most hesitant. She looked down at her bow, the one thing she was good at and the very item that could defend her. As she placed her weapon on the floor, next to Chris' metal bat and stun gun, she felt as if her safety blanket was being yanked from her.

The girl inhaled. Her sister chose this guy to be their coach. If she trusted him, then she should too. She quickly removed her quiver and gingerly placed it next to her bow. A quick run outside into the cold and she joined the others in front of the _Iguanodon_.

"Okay we're utterly defenseless. Now what?" the muscular keeper questioned.

"Three laps around the park," was what he said.

While mostly everyone was speechless at that, it was Ellis who protested against it. Hanna did not know him for very long, but even she could tell that he was not the exercising type.

"Three!? Dude, you do realize that this place is freaking huge right!?"

Nero just watched him, unaffected by the pleading the younger Rey brother made. "I know. Because this is your first day of training, I'll go easy on you. Around the main area of the park will be sufficient enough."

"That's still huge!" he complained while quickly stomping his foot and shaking his hands stiffly in front of him.

Nero smiled smugly, something that Hanna found to be creepy. That scarred face and that little grin he made was like a psychopath doing something he enjoyed. "Well, it seems like you are a bit eager for today. I can abide with that. Would the whole park appease that excitement of yours?"

The Filipino gawked. Hanna glared at him, along with the rest. As much as _some_ of them were okay with exercising, the whole of Temporary Park was just too huge to traverse. Unless they were very dedicated and distance did not matter, they would not object to running around the park. But considering the circumstances they were in, doing that very thing was something neither of them wanted to go through. And if this guy was going to screw up their morning by inadvertently making their training worse, then this was going to be bad.

Ellis stammered his response. A nervous laugh escaped him. "Nope! Just the main hub is fine! I don't know why I said that. Must have been the morning coffee."

"That's what I thought. Now RUN!"

Nero roared, rattling their ears. Unlike the beastly roar that the Carnotaur from two days ago created, this one was a mix between a low trombone and a lion's roar. The angry push he created was enough to get Hanna running. Even though he was herbivorous, she did not want to be caught under his foot if she did not obey.

The girls, and funnily enough, Ellis, ran away screaming. Chris was startled; due to his muscular physique, he was able to bypass the other frightened humans at the front.

Hanna followed the department heads. They rounded another building and some parked vehicles. They ran passed enclosures that had stirring Residents; those that were rudely awakened by Nero's outburst or the dawn. It only took her a few seconds to see that they were really going around the outer hub of this place.

If she were paying more attention, she would have noticed one of their number falling behind.

"You call that running? Even the slowest predator can catch up to you at that pace!"

The younger Veran looked back to find Ellis several feet behind them. His breathing was ragged and his feet were slowing. His messy hair was whipping in the air slowly. His arms were going with his body as he slowed down.

But that wasn't the only thing she noticed. Trotting behind the young man was Nero. All he was doing was doing some kind of brisk walk. Typical, they broke out in a sprint and he caught up to them easily.

"This...is the fastest...I can go!"

"Pathetic, we'll just have to fix that," he roared behind him. Ellis screamed and shot forward. His speed built up, even bypassing the shocked Hanna. It did not take him very long to get to the middle of the group. His panting quickened and got louder with the motivation he was given.

"Faster you maggots! I want to see those legs moving!" the dinosaur that trotted behind them ordered.

Hanna grimaced at the prehistoric drill sergeant that dogged them. This morning was not going to go well.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

About an hour later…

Hanna loved to jog. Even before she took up archery, while she was in grade school, she liked jogging around the school gym. She could go for a few laps so long as she was not being forced into it. Actually, so long as she liked what she was doing and she wasn't being forced to do it, she would like it.

Jogging around the park would have been fine with her if Nero had not been driving them on like a military officer on a bad day. Well, technically, if anybody was slowing down or the whole group was doing so, he would get to the rear and just roar loudly to push them on. Hanna was really annoyed by that; for once, she preferred a coach who would blow long and hard into a long whistle rather than an animal bellow pushing them on. God forbid if this guy learned how to use a whistle. He would break it on the first breath!

Once the quartet finished their three laps around the park, even attracting confused faces here and there, they met back at the bistro. The sun was already rising, giving the sky a welcoming light-orange gradient. Unlike earlier that morning, they rendezvoused at the side of the building so that they would not block anyone's way inside. Hanna was exhausted, and so was everyone else. She collapsed on the ground, her back to the wall. Right beside her was Daisy, was taking in large gulps of water from her bottle. The girl copied her idea and ran inside to get her own bag so that she could refresh herself; the cool liquid going down her throat soothed the dryness that developed.

Unlike the girls, the boys were resting in different positions. Ellis was so tired from always getting dogged by Nero that he just laid on the ground like some kind of dirt angel. Chris was doing his best to keep himself standing by propping against that same barrel.

"This...this isn't a workout. It's a fucking boot camp!" Ellis complained.

"What the hell was Veran thinking?" Chris gasped for air. "First she has a dinosaur be our coach, and now he's pushing us like a mad slave driver. I swear, if I do live through this, she's fucking dead!"

The vet straightened at the sudden rise in the keeper's temper. She put her hands in front in a halting manner. "Now now, let's not get violent. Hazel is putting us through this because she wants us to get stronger."

"I don't care what she said! She's trying to kill us!"

"This is only the first day. Let's give this a chance."

Hanna's head lolled to the side. Her second wind was coming back to grace her. She then reached into her pants pocket to pull out a spare granola bar she had put there to appease her hunger. She had not eaten breakfast at all. It was a Quaker Oats s'mores bar, but it was better than nothing. As soon as she was about to rip the wrapper off, she caught sight of a large green shape coming from the back of the building. Her frustration on not being able to get something substantial in her stomach resurfaced when Nero came up to the exhausted humans.

"Get up," he demanded. "Break time is over."

Ellis sat up in objection to that. "Oh come on! It's only been three minutes!"

While all of the dinosaurs had limited knowledge in how humans could tell time, that did not stop Nero from going on with convincing them all to continue. "This place and its flesh-eating natives won't give you that sort of mercy. You humans were raised on luxuries most of us did not have. In this time and place, the world is against you. To survive, you must fight back. Now get up! Training isn't over yet."

Everyone got up, much to their displeasure. Hanna grumbled as she stored her granola bar back into her pocket.

Again, the dinosaur started to pace in front of them as he spoke.

"Now we're going to do a couple of exercises that you humans may be familiar with."

Hanna had to hold in a snicker when she saw Nero spread his legs apart at a sizeable distance. He then started to crouch up and down. It did not take very long for her to see that he was performing pushups. His underside and neck nearly kissed the ground before coming back up. For humans, it seemed normal. But on a quadruped, it just looked ridiculous! He looked like he was trying to imitate a crab!

Looking over at the others, she could tell that they too were having trouble holding in their laughter. Daisy had the right mind to cover her mouth with a hand. Chris was doing his best to pay attention, but would look away at times to try to save face. Ellis, on the other hand, was biting his bottom lip to contain the stifled giggles he was making.

Nero finally got up, the amusement in the group immediately died down to save themselves from whatever punishment he had for laughing at him. Thankfully, he did not seem to notice.

"You four will be doing haul-ups."

Chris immediately spoke up after clearing his throat. "You mean push-ups."

"Haul-ups, push-ups, it doesn't matter. They're the same thing," he said coldly. "Now drop and give me fifty!"

Everyone groaned and got down on all fours. Hanna quickly straightened her legs so that only her feet and hands propped her body up. She then started to bend her arms at a 90 degree angle before coming back up. Her face nearly touched the dirt below. Her arms strained from her weight and the quick movements she was making. Push-ups were another thing she could do just fine.

When she made it to thirty-two, she glanced over at the others. Chris was doing his perfectly, except he was doing it a bit slower than she was. Most likely, he was doing that to make sure his form was perfect. Daisy and Ellis were failing on their push-ups; none of their forms were perfect at all.

Hanna winced when she watched Nero go in front of the vet and place a hoof on her back. Her haphazard push-ups looked like some animal that was trying to bend for some water or food. She yelped at the sudden weight that was pushing her down. Judging by how he was doing it, it looked like Nero was barely using much force to get her lower.

"Lower human!" he commanded, making her arms bend further. "I want you to kiss that ground!"

" _Kólos_ (asshole)…," she cursed in Greek under her breath. "My name is Daisy!"

"Named after a flower…good to know," he then looked over at Ellis. His form was a little better than Daisy, but his body was only bending just by a little bit. This, unfortunately, did not satisfy Nero's expectations. The hefty herbivore released his grip on Daisy and moved his other hoof on the engineer. Unlike the vet, he completely fell flat on the earth.

"Hey!" he yelled at the prehistoric coach.

"You have to be kidding me," he shook his head in surprise. "I wasn't even pushing you."

"Dude! You ruined my form!"

"You weren't doing it right in the first place. Now get yourself off the ground and do it again."

Ellis slammed the earth with one hand. "I will if you get your foot off of me!"

Nero snorted disapprovingly and released his hold on him. Ellis resumed his original position and started to do some proper push-ups, but not before scowling at the herbivore. The _Iguanodon_ did not take offense to it. The young man's incredible distaste in exercising began to irritate their coach.

"And what's your name?" he asked the engineer. "Or should I call you _Maggot_?"

He replied quickly, taking offense to that possible nickname. "Ellis!" He then gestured to the others with his arms whenever he could while doing those push-ups. "Mr. Bigshot there is Chris, and you already met Hanna, the boss' sister."

"Very well then," the scarred trainer accepted the answer. "Now keep working!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ellis felt like dying. He hated exercising, he disliked anyone who acted like a military general, he missed being around contraptions he could work on or even being on his computer; he was going through one part of his personal hell! He didn't know this Nero very well, but ever since the first minute they properly met that morning, he abhorred the guy. Now his back, arms, and lungs were hurting terribly.

He had been complaining on how hard push-ups were, which only seemed to piss off Nero more. Due to his constant complaining, the dinosaur forced everyone to do fifty more push-ups. His teammates as well as Hanna glared at him and even told him off for being stupid on that.

After doing a total of one hundred push-ups, the _Iguanodon_ had them do the next exercises that he hated; crunches and sit ups. According to Nero, Hazel recommended that they do those so that they could build up on abdominal muscles. She had already given him a detailed explanation on both of them. He much liked the ideas and followed through with those exercises.

Ellis did not have anything against his boss before, but now he was starting to get really annoyed by her.

Putting his hands behind his head, the Filipino worked on fifty crunches per Nero's instruction. Ellis kept on quietly complaining on how annoying these exercises were. In fact, he was so annoyed that he just wanted to get it done. His crunches were all quick; just getting his body up to a 45 degree angle was sufficient for all of them. Already, his stomach started to ache, and he had to tell himself twice that it was not due to the undercooked breakfast sandwich he made this morning.

He was relieved when he did not get called out by Nero on finishing quickly. Ellis just sprawled out on the grass, letting his aching neck rest. By the time everyone was finished, the _Iguanodon_ was generous to give them a minute's rest before having them move on to sit ups.

Nero asked them to get with a partner for this. While the engineer did not really have anything against either person in the group, he would much rather be with a female companion rather than Chris. He did not want to deal with any cocky outbursts or be pressured by him. Naturally, he went for the first girl he could get to; Daisy.

The Grecian woman was okay with his company. And she made for a good partner in this exercise. She knew he was still recovering from doing all of those crunches; not to mention she was fine with going first. She had him hang onto her legs as she did those exercises. As she sat up and lay day 50 times, Ellis found himself in admiration on how graceful her form was when she did those sit ups, even though she was physically suffering. She complained in partial Greek on hating sit-ups.

When it came to be his turn, Ellis did the best he could to match her tenacity. He hauled himself up to his legs and back and even made an effort to do it as quickly as she did. His stomach ached with every haul.

By the time he and everyone else were done, they all were prone on the ground, recovering from the rigorous exercises. Daisy sat up while clutching her stomach. Hanna rolled onto her stomach and buried her face on the ground; hoping the pressure on it would ease the pain. Chris was the only one who was mellower about his reaction; he just lay on his back quietly.

Ellis, on the other hand, just hung onto his stomach and went from side to side, complaining on how much it hurt.

One order from Nero later and the group was ordered to get to the southern part of the park. He asked them to get their equipment so everyone ran into the bistro to retrieve them. When they did, they received questions on what they were doing. Chris merely answered them all by saying "We're going through the dinosaur version of 'Boot Camp'" before rushing out the door. The brother of Prehistoric Park's head engineer just grabbed for the broken stun gun and his toolkit before following after him.

He was happy to have things that reminded him of his strengths.

With everyone ready with their items, they followed Nero towards the back of Temporary Park. The clear open grassy space was scarce of any wandering Resident. The small hills reminded him of Prehistoric Park, minus the cold. They veered around those hills before reaching to a particular area that seemed to have been prepared just for them.

In front of them were two sets of targets. On the left were six wooden circular propped targets with the bullseye sign drawn on the canvases. On the right were large rocks that had bullseye marks spray-painted onto them.

Ellis recognized the wooden targets. The storage warehouse had those stored away in the back. They were meant as a means to help employees improve on shooting with tranquilizer guns. They would practice by shooting with unloaded darts rather than wasting the precious chemical to knock an animal out.

As for the rocks, Ellis could only guess that Nero must have put them there himself. The dragging marks that weaved behind them were indications that he went into the forest to get them here. Then either Hazel or someone else drew the targets on them with spray paint later on.

Adjacent to the wooden ring targets, the young man noticed a pile of sandbags that were lying there in a mountain pile. Again, they were from storage. These would be used to weigh things down or keep something out. Why they were there was beyond him.

Finally, to the very left was what seemed to be a lifting bench with a pile of circular weights. Also next to them were a series of dumbbells and others that seemed to coincide with working out, ranging from hand pinchers to jump ropes. Now why would Nero have those there? Did he even know what those even were? Hazel must have told him about it and had him put those there.

These things were placed here to help them train. It was their little workout section. If only it were inside then this environment would have been a little better.

"I didn't know the park had exercising equipment," Hanna said after looking at all of the supplies that were laid out before them.

"These must be from the recreation building," Chris told her.

She gave him an inquisitive look. "I didn't know this park had one."

Ellis chose this time to step in and explain. "We do. It's somewhere in the middle of the park."

"So…who put those rocks there?" she wondered.

"Hey!" yelled their coach over to the very right. When the group looked over, they saw him standing next to four piles of rocks about their height that were lined a few feet from each other. "You're not here for those. At least not yet."

The group shared one glance at each other before making their way over to their coach. Ellis just kept muttering on how tired he was from exercising most of the morning, with Chris telling him to shut up. Once they got there, it was Daisy who asked Nero of their objective.

"What are all of these rocks for?" she questioned him while observing each and every pile.

"This is your next task," he replied. "You are to carry each and every rock from here…"

He left the foursome to proceed to a spot several feet away from them. Ellis gawked at how far he was going. When the dinosaur turned around to drag his paw on the ground, he just wanted to bang his head against a rock and die. He had just marked a spot that was about 45 feet away; that was the length of a school bus!

The young man made a whining cry. Taking a good look at those rocks, they were about two feet long each with a thickness of close to nine inches. Where the heck did he get these rocks anyway? He must have spent most of the day yesterday gathering all of these. Unless Hazel had some other employees gather them from around the park. Whatever the case, this guy was going to make them take these rocks from one point to another!

"To this point!" Nero yelled for the humans to hear.

Well, at least Ellis was not alone in this part. Everyone else around him started to react badly to this. "WHAT!?" they all said at the same time.

"You can't be serious!" whined the engineer. "Those rocks to there!? They look like they weigh a ton!"

The _Iguanodon_ glared at him. Ellis did not care if he was going to get yelled at this point. He did not want to go through something like this. The way things were going now on day one of their training, it's like he was trying to kill them! If not by his discretion then unknowingly! Seriously, how can this guy not know what a human's limit to their strength is! What are they, elephants? They can't move these rocks by themselves!

Hanna even proved that when she went to one pile to try to lift a decently sized rock. To everyone's confirmation, she could not lift one by at least a foot. She yelped when the grey, white, and mineral covered rock nearly squashed her delicate fingers.

Hazel's sister yelled accusingly at the dinosaur. "I can barely lift one!"

Nero growled in annoyance. He rolled his eyes before giving his relenting, and relieving, answer. "Humans and their feebleness. Very well, you will work in pairs on two piles only. You will have to work together with your partner to carry each and every rock to that line."

He scrutinized the Veran sibling, making her glare back at him. "Better?"

She huffed in an almost snooty manner. "Much. Thank you."

Ellis straightened himself. Thank goodness she got that straightened out. At least he decided to be a bit more lenient.

"Don't expect me to bend backwards all the time. Now pair up."

The younger Rey took this opportunity to get to his more preferred choice. He did not know anyone in this group very well, but if there was one person he would rather not pair with, it was Chris Sinclair. His pessimism and cocky attitude was jarring to his own personality. He did have the potential to unintentionally/intentionally put him down. Ellis would rather not deal with that sort of thing.

So he went for the first person he saw. He took one big step and stood right next to Daisy. Calling out her name and suddenly putting his hand on her shoulder put her off-guard. She was uncomfortable, but only for a moment. She agreed to be his partner for the duration of the exercise.

As for Chris, he was paired with Hanna. He could tell that the younger Veran was not too thrilled with the circumstance she was thrown into. In fact, Ellis felt a bit guilty for not considering her feelings. Well, at least neither of them have anything major against each other, save for Hanna always getting miffed for that stupid, yet funny, nickname Chris always gave her.

As expected, this exercise was torturous. The rocks weighed a ton compared to his scrawny arms. He and Daisy held two sides of the rock and was held just below their pelvic region. Now he could see why Hanna had trouble lifting these up by herself. If it were not for Daisy's help, he could have smashed his toes for even trying. His poor arms ached with the stress they were being put through. His fingers felt like giving way from being too sweaty. Dropping it would not bode well for him or Daisy; he needed to hold it up.

Looking over at the vet, he could see she was having a worse time. Daisy was not much into weight lifting that much he knew. She was straining in her breath with each step they took. Her breathing was quick yet heavy from all the stress she was going through. When they dropped that first rock on the marked point, she wanted to collapse.

Ellis had to convince her to run back to the pile so they could get the next rock. One rock was done, but that left the other thirty or fifty. Chris and Hanna seemed to have things down as they were already on their third going fourth. How the heck did they do this so fast?

He also hated that when he and Daisy tried to lift the next rock, he accidentally stubbed his fingers from the rock slipping. The vet had to get her medical kit to patch up his fingers with Neosporin and tight gauze. Ellis' fingers hurt like crazy, but at least she was looking out for him. And now his hands had some more padding just in case. Oh and there was Nero's constant commands to get them to hurry up. Geez, he really hated this guy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nero was not overly satisfied at the progress these humans were making. They were feeble compared to him or anyone else. They were, in his eyes, like mere children. He was not disappointed that they were weak or complaining. He expected these humans to test his patience. Actually, he was a bit impressed at how they finished the rock-carrying course, and he was not so easily impressed. They were resilient, that much he could give them. He expected them to collapse after ten rocks.

No, they kept going until the very last one in the pile. The two humans named Chris and Hanna finished first; they fell on their backs and immediately lay sprawled like leaves. Following them were the two named Ellis and Daisy. While they complained about how tough his training was throughout the day, Nero found them to be quiet, save for their heavy breathing and gasping.

These humans did finish the task, even though it took a long time. They deserved at least a reward. So he let them rest for a while longer than he planned. He may not know how to determine time in human terms, so he decided to leave them be for a bit.

He only gave them the amount of time he needed to get a quick bite from the forest. Three bundles of leaves were all he needed. Being a coach to a couple of humans and having to endure their whining and frustration made him a little hungry. He had to hand it to the leader brat; this was better than just staring at the herd all day or going off by himself. At least now he had something to do. By the time he returned, he found them sitting back up, eating and drinking to get their energy back. Asking them how long he was gone, he got an answer from Ellis; 20 minutes.

The hefty _Iguanodon_ had no concept of human time, but he felt in his gut that was long enough. He ordered them to get back up and head to where the rest of the equipment was for their final exercise of the day.

The training grounds were set up by a few employees who knew of the training by their leader's orders. They were told not to tell anyone about it as that would spoil it to everyone else. Nero himself brought the rocks in for the training, both for target practice and rock carrying. They were in abundance in the back forest, so he had no trouble gathering them. One thing that she told him that he did not pay any attention to was the setup of tents over the training areas; something about keeping the humans from getting too exposed to the elements while they were exercising.

Nero did not care about that. As long as they got through training, that was enough for him.

He had them gather the items they brought to training. Once they all stood before him with their weapons, or whatever else they brought, he announced the start of the final exercise.

"Alright, we've reached the final part of training today."

"Thank God…" he heard the engineer say in a loud whisper.

"Considering you're a couple of humans who haven't trained often, you lot are pretty lousy," the ornithopod said condescendingly, ticking off most of the humans.

He saw the one named Chris roll his eyes and mutter something. He could not make it out, but it sounded a bit like "Dumbass, I work out every now and then."

Nero did not let that get to him. He was going to work these humans to the bone until they were ready to face the dangers outside. "But that's to be expected. It's only day one. By the time the cold days are here, you'll all be stronger and faster than you are today."

He looked over at each and everyone one of the humans as he paced in front of them. "For the last part of today, you'll be working on the first part of combat training. As you are already aware, we're in a time and place where nearly everything will kill you. You humans lack any natural means of defense; no claws, no tails, no outside bone, no sharp teeth, no strong legs, and all of your senses are...not as impressive as others. Instead, you rely on whatever abilities you possess or the devices you create to defend yourself. Today, you'll be working on honing your...weapons."

The four humans remained quiet on his disdainful review of their species, but he sensed they were insulted. Good, let them feel that. That will push them to prove him wrong. When he went to discussing about them showing off their skills, they revealed a sense of determination, almost like they wanted to show him up for being, as humans would say, "like a douche".

He stopped in front of Ellis. His last stomp made him gasp a bit. "You. The gimpy nerd. What can you do?"

"I uh…" he grabbed for the derelict stun gun that was lying by his feet and showed it to him. "I can take apart devices and put them back together. I can also fix them."

Nero narrowed his eyes at him; unimpressed at the skill he was just told. "Is that all you can do? I doubt fixing anything will do much good when in real combat."

"Well, I'm not too shabby with shooting. I used to play paintball when I was-."

The _Iguanodon_ straightened and walked away from him. He did not want to hear this human's life story. "Good enough. Get that thing fixed and then line up at those rocks there," he ended with a tail gesture towards the rocks marked with the target symbols."

"Uh...okay. Sure…"

He made his way to the next human. Chris Sinclair wasted no time with talking. All he did was show him the stun gun that was slung on his shoulder and a long metal stick that he held in the other hand. Nero had no idea what that stick was. It looked like a stiffened tail of some sort.

"I used to go to a shooting range back at home a few years back," he started. "And I'm not too shabby with a bat either."

He swung it down in front of him in a downward motion. The impact on the ground was nondescript to him, but Nero could tell that being on that thing's receiving end could shatter bone. That's a useful way to fight. It was like a tail club of an ankylosaur. Quick movements and precision would make this human a deadly adversary.

That was, if he could match the _Iguanodon_ in a fight. They were not here to do that. Nero had…other plans for this human.

"Drop them. You won't need them," he said, much to the human's surprise.

Chris stammered for a moment. "Wait, what? Didn't you hear what I said?"

"I did. You won't need those. Not yet."

The young man gawked, becoming upset by the moment. "Not yet? Excuse me, but I thought this last part of training is on working with weapons. I'm good at using a gun and a bat."

He responded indifferently. "You will be working with your weapons. Just not right now," he moved his head over to his left, towards the lifting bench that was situated next to a pile of increasing circular weights. "Instead, you'll be working on those weights there."

Chris' eye twitched. "You want me to do weightlifting?"

"I've seen you work around the park before. You've got more strength than the other humans. Not to mention you handled that rock exercise almost easily. You seemed to have been leaving your teammate behind trying to get everything done."

And he was accurate in that. One of the reasons why he and that other female human finished first was because he was rushing in getting the task done, so much so that his partner was doing her best to keep up with his pace. Nero could only guess that he was just trying to get it done without any regard for his teammate.

Nero had no regard for anyone else's sake when he was doing similar training in the past. He was pushing large boulders from one end to the other in the canyon that served as the entrance to his old home. He was doing everything by himself, and yet pushing those rocks helped with making him stronger.

He was not much on being in a team, but he could see that what Chris was doing was not the way to go. But, perhaps his strength could be improved another way.

"I want to see how far you can go with that," he said. "Start with a certain weight then work up from that. Show me where you've stopped when you're tired."

Chris scoffed and folded his arms. "Humph, fine."

The dinosaur moved his way over to the third human. The girl wearing pink's eyes kept darting from side to side. She was doing her best not to make eye contact with him. It was clear she was nervous. Nero wanted none of that and just went for his next inquiry.

"And you?" he said a bit darkly. "What can you do?"

"Oh…um…well…"

"I expect your full undivided attention," Nero demanded under his breath.

She tensed up and looked at him shakily. "Well, I'm efficient with knowing how the animal and human physiology works, I can help fix wounds, I did volunteer in multiple locations related to animals, I did get a degree in vet-"

Nero rolled his eyes. He lost her after she said "knowing". Really, he was getting really bored with it. "Shut it with the jargon. You're boring me."

"Oh," she gulped. "I can heal others. I'm a vet."

Of course, the signs were there back in the previous exercise. Not to mention the red crosses that was on her attire. So she was a healer. Quite useful in the field if anyone got hurt or sick. But in combat, that was not going to do much. Among the humans he was training all morning, she was the one that seemed to have the least potential. She may have muscled through his exercise regimes, but she seemed to be lagging behind in his standards.

To Nero, that needed to be fixed.

"Ah that's right. I saw you help your teammate back there. Is that all you can really do? Can you fight?"

She shook her head. "Well uh…not really. I'm not much of a fighter."

Nero huffed at that confirmation. He looked down at the items she brought; a special "sack" that had items he could not name (no doubt they were for healing ailments of sorts), and an odd shiny yet pale human. He had seen one or two of these things before during his time at the park. According to one vet he asked, they were called training dummies. They were used to help train healing trainees on how to heal parts of the human body. It did not serve any purpose in fighting against larger creatures so this thing was not very useful in his eyes.

"Did you even bring a weapon?"

The human girl gulped. "Um…no."

Nero snorted with a scowl. "Disappointing. Your leader requested that you bring a weapon for this."

"She asked me to bring my medical kit and a training dummy so that I can show you what I can do!" she retorted.

"She should have emphasized your means of defense," he responded in defense to his standing.

The human before him made a sour face. For a female that seemed delicate, her angry expression seemed…almost amusing. She was doing her best to look tough, but she was overdoing it. Nero stood quietly waiting for whatever outburst she was going to make.

It never came when one of the group members approached her. The _Iguanodon_ watched as Chris reached into one of his pockets for a particular item. To her and Nero's surprise, he flipped a small black object in his hand and pointed it at the flabbergasted girl. The vet stood stunned at what was being given to her…and the surprising generosity of the normally aloof Chris.

"Take this," he said while doing his best to not make any eye contact.

She hastily retrieved the item. She toyed around with it in her hands at the slim stick-like object. Unbeknownst to her, her trainer was closely eyeing it too. It looked like a smooth thin rock in his eyes. There were odd grooves and indentations that he could not make heads or tails of. There were white markings along the middle of the object, which seemed to make the young woman surprised.

He watched her hold it at the base while pointing it up. One of her thumbs fiddled around with a notch that stuck out near the top. She, and even Nero, was taken by surprise when a black serrated blade flipped out.

Daisy took some deep breaths and timidly thanked her savior. "Thank you? But don't you need it?"

He shook his head and walked back to where he was before, next to Hanna. "Nope."

Nero blinked out of his near-shock. These human marvels just kept getting more surprising. Now they had weapons that they could easily conceal without showing anyone. This particular weapon reminded him of him and his kind, who have thumb spikes to defend themselves. At least he now had a weapon he could somewhat relate to.

"Be thankful that your teammate helped you," he took one more glance at the now retracted knife before looking back at the attentive vet. "And keep that on you. I'll show you a thing or two on how to fight with a spike...or whatever that is."

The human briskly nodded. Nero took his eyes off of her and walked to the last human in the group. He stopped just a few feet short from being in front of her; he was off to her right side for safety reasons. Unlike the previous female, this one was more defensive. She was inhaling and exhaling deeply. Her angry brown eyes stared into his pale ones. Nero was unafraid of the female; that determination she was giving off was admirable. However, he knew that dwelling too much on anger would lead to one's downfall. He learned that the hard way in the past.

His eyes darted to the cylindrical object she slung over her shoulder. Her weapon, that curved stick with the tight vine closing the gap, was held tightly in her left hand.

"You, the hu-…I mean _Hazel's_ sibling," he quickly corrected himself on his former enemy's name. He felt uncomfortable saying it, but since they were on decent terms, the least he could do was to at least show her some respect. He also did his best to hide the strain of the change in attitude towards saying the girl's name; if she were here, she may be laughing at how soft he was starting to become. "Show me what you can do with that."

Hanna did not cut off her attention from him as she readied her weapon. One quick motion of her right hand and she retrieved one of her handmade arrows. When she prepped the arrow on the bow, she tore her eyes off of him towards one of the wooden canvas targets several feet from her.

Nero watched as she drew the arrow back, preparing to fire. Her face hugged close to the thin object and her eyes squinted a little. Her bow moved slightly to adjust for a perfect shot.

Then, there was something else he noticed. Her arms were shaking. She was breathing through her teeth. Her eyes were darting from the target and him. The human was whispering something under her breath; though he could not make it out, he could tell that it was something nasty. Not only that, but her other teammates seemed to be talking among themselves, something that she was not taking too kindly.

The _***fwip***_ sound and the sudden speed of the arrow caught him off guard. He almost missed the arrow's trajectory as it sailed through the air over the ground. Nero watched closely as it approached the target…

The arrow pierced the canvas. Nero was nearly bug-eyed at where it landed. From what this human's sister told him, the point of these targets were to try to hit the red circle in the middle to improve aiming and precision with ranged weapons. This human's arrow managed to hit the white space just outside of the red circle to its right. Her aim was off by just a little bit.

Hanna groaned. He watched her shut her eyes and release her tension through some deep breaths.

"Whoa! Nice shootin' Tex!" The human named Ellis whistled.

"Very impressive Hanna," Daisy lightly commented. "You almost hit it dead on!"

Though they were impressed by her demonstration, their comments only stung her. Although Hanna expertly masked her dismay, the green _Iguanodon_ easily caught the minute irritation of the young human.

Nero understood what was happening. She was distracted with various factors. And it was whatever was going on in her mind or outside that was affecting her prowess. She was letting her emotions get to her, thus ruining her focus.

That was something that needed much attention.

"Interesting. So that's how that works," he said in a near-impressed manner. He watched the stressed human with a bit more interest. "That aim needs improvement."

The girl snorted, looking away from the antipathetic coach. Her anger at her failure was like an insult to her reputation.

Nero turned his attention to everyone else with a quick turn of his body. He raised his voice to his trainees, like an officer to his soldiers. "You all have your assignments. Get to it. I want to see some progress before our time is up!"

And so the humans scattered to work on their given tasks. The head keeper made his way to the lifting bench and started off with lifting the bar with the already set weights. The scrawny engineer got to work on the broken stun gun and took out various tools from his waist to begin working on it. The park leader's sister initiated her task with practicing her aim at the canvas targets ahead; Nero had to make sure to stay clear of her way otherwise he would risk being in the crossfire of those wooden stone-tipped needles.

The first thing he did was help Daisy with the weapon that was lent to her. He had to lead her away so they had a decent amount of space from the others that were practicing. The pocket knife she was given was indeed like a thumb spike, so he had no trouble showing her various attacking moves. The only thing was he had two spikes while she only had one. He had to kick a small twig over to her so that she could be uniform with his style at least. He taught her arm swipes, stabs, lunges, and other variants. To him, they were easy, but this was not so for a human. She kept tripping and got tired quickly.

Nero also switched his tactics and had her attack him, with the knife sheathed. He had her slam her body against one of his arms, both the stick and the sheathed knife held close to her like an _Iguanodon_ would with a double stab to the front. Her battle cries and yelling were weak too.

He sighed and pushed her away, making her land on her rump. The dinosaur ordered her to keep practicing the moves she was just taught. He needed to see how the others were doing.

The next human he visited was Ellis. The Filipino had already finished repairing the broken stun gun and was now practicing shooting at the rock targets. Unlike Hanna, who at least had control in her shooting when she demonstrated her skill, his ability to wield a gun was terrible. The bluish-white bolts that erupted from the front only glazed the rock targets into the forest. This stun gun was another version that was created some time ago and he only saw them used a couple of times in the past, when they were being tested. Nero berated him for not being truthful in knowing how to use such a weapon. The frustrated human back talked him with an excuse by saying he "had not played paintball in a long time", whatever that was. Due to his incompetence, he had the human remain there until he was able to shoot the targets properly.

The only trainee without any problems was Chris, who was dutifully pumping away at the iron weights. While Nero couldn't really gage how well he was doing, the large weights on each side of the barbell and the countless repetitions of his movements proved that he was much stronger than his other human cohorts. Chris was silent throughout this, with the sole exception of the clinks of the weights' movements and the sharp clangs of when the 24-year old took the time to up his weight before swiftly resuming his reps.

The next human he visited was Hanna. She used about a quarter of her arrow bundle when he came to her. Looking over at the target, he could see that the arrows were lodged in the target, but neither of them were in the red area. One look at the girl and he saw she was frustrated at how she was going. Nero shook his head.

As Hanna nocked another arrow, the burly _Iguanodon_ noticed that the girl would twitch and cringe at certain times. Nero shifted his focus away from the frustrated teen and to the other humans working.

Daisy made another clumsy lunge with her knife as she cried out. "Hiyah! Hiyah! HIYAH!"

Ellis continuously made shot after shot with his rifle, casually cursing after every miss. _***pew!***_ "Damn it." _***pew!***_ "Damn it." _***pew!***_ "Damn it."

Chris silently continued his weightlifting, the barbell noisily clinking after every lift. _***Clink!***_ _***Clink!***_ _ ***Clink!***_

Nero looked over to Hanna again and could see the girl's hands fidget as she tried time and again to ready her arrow. Every time she heard a sound, Nero could see the minute shift in her eyes as her pupils tried to track the origin of said noise. While the Iguanodon could applaud her acute awareness, she was _too_ alert in his opinion. Disappointing…what hope does she have of having a fighting chance if she can't operate in a hectic environment?

Nero shook his as he stalked up to the hesitant Hanna. After a few more moments of the girl flinching at the background noise of her comrades, the dinosaur trainer had enough. The girl was a fighter, but words alone were not enough in a fight.

"SHOOT STRAIGHT MAGGOT!" Nero shouted as he stomped on the ground hard enough for dirt to fly up, surprising the hell out of the teenaged archer.

 _ ***TWANG***_

As expected, Hanna's arrow flew off and firmly lodged itself several feet off to the right side of the target.

The young woman only scowled at the large dinosaur.

"What the hell!?" The 17-year old screamed.

Nero snorted. "You are too slow and inaccurate with your little weapon. Do better."

Hanna gritted her teeth. "I can't concentrate with all this damn noise around here from all these damn distractions!"

Chris and Daisy took a moment to see what the commotion was all about; Ellis cried out in offense when he overheard the angry teen's tirade. The green ornithopod simply gave them a glare, silently informing the others to "get back to work." The rest of the three bystanders resumed their individual training. Nero returned his focus to the angry girl. Her arguing for not being able to concentrate with how noisy everything was to her was…amusing.

"You fight only when it's quiet?" Nero asked rhetorically. "That's impossible. Life rarely ever is silent. You need to learn how to fight in multiple environments, especially chaotic ones. Now, ready your weapon again."

Hanna scowled, but did as she was told anyways. As she nocked her weapon, the other humans around her continued making their minute noises during their training. Nevertheless, she attempted to land a shot on the bullseye.

She missed.

Huffing, she nocked back another arrow – the background noise still buzzing in her ears— and fired a second shot.

She missed again.

As Hanna was contemplating if the catharsis of pulling out her hair would help her situation, Nero just groaned internally. Nero had to change his strategy. If talking was not going to cut it, then he needed to get physical.

When she tried to shoot again, Nero—slinking stealthily up to her side despite his size—coughed noisily, almost as if he were gagging on food that did not go down properly. The human missed by a long shot again.

She glared at him for that, which he reacted with a smug smile. Flaring her nostrils a bit as she exhaled, Hanna tried again. However, Nero prevented her from getting a perfect shot by obnoxiously yawning over her head. This led to her arrow not even making it onto the target, and planting itself into the ground.

"What the HELL is your problem?!" Hanna exploded. "Do you think this is funny? Because it isn't you overgrown iguana! Stop being such an asshole!"

Her shouting seemingly had no effect if the smug smile on his face was any indication. He simply maneuvered in front of her—between her and her target over his left shoulder.

"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to wield a bow!?" the teen archer continued her tirade, "The discipline, form, and training I had to do to?! The minute calculations I have to do to line up a shot and consider all of the hazards like the wind?! Do you know how much actual upper body strength an adult has to have to even draw back an Olympic bow!? It takes a lot! And I'm only 17-years old! I know the limits of my bow, not you! So back the _fuck_ off!"

Hanna was completely winded after her little hissy fit, yet her blood still boiled with fury. Daisy, Chris, and Ellis, although appearing to be engrossed in their work, were failing to look inconspicuous when they were trying to eavesdrop on the shouting match between the human and the dinosaur.

Nero still didn't answer. He still wore that damnable smirk.

Before Hanna could break the silence, the green _Iguanodon_ chose that moment to speak up.

"If you know how that weapon should be operated, then you should do a better job of demonstrating it."

That insignificant slight against her was all that was needed to lose her cool.

"RAH!"

Hanna roared angrily and notched another arrow. Her bow aiming staggered between the target and him; her desire to shoot him for pissing her off was very clear. Nero stood his ground, unmoving from her rage. Rather than shooting him, however, she aimed at the target, and fired.

 _ ***THUNK!***_

She gawked at what she had witnessed. In fact, she nearly fell over in astonishment. Nero peered at the target and fell into sheer bewilderment. This human had some potential after all.

The arrow struck the center of the red circle.

Finally, she did it. His pestering did do something after all.

With a nod, Nero walked off. Before he had gotten too far away, he spoke over his shoulder.

"When in battle, block everything out. The only thing that matters is your opponent. All other things don't matter. Remember that and you'll do fine."

Had he looked back at the human, he would have seen her make a weary laugh.

Nero kept track of the progress the trainees were making a while longer. They made a bit of improvement, but not enough for him to say that they were truly ready for the coming cold days. When Ellis said that it was noon and that it was the cutoff time for training that day, Nero called them all to line up.

They were all exhausted; heaving and gasping from their training. Hanna and Ellis were massaging their fingers from constantly working on shooting. Daisy was rolling her shoulders and flexing her arms from the quick movements she had been doing with the knife and stick. Chris was trying to massage his arms from the new muscle strains he put on them.

Nero cleared his throat and made his proclamation, bringing them all to his attention. "Alright humans. Judging from what your teammate just told me, your training for the day is done."

They all made relieved expressions, but he reeled them back with a warning. "But don't think this is over. If today has taught us anything, it's that there are a lot of things you all need to improve on. By the time the cold days are here, I expect to see massive improvement. You lot have a long way to go."

The next thing he said caused them to either be shamefaced or ticked at how they really were. "As a summary for your first day, I'd say you lot are pretty pathetic. That's to be expected though. Tomorrow, I expect you all to be back at the same rendezvous point as this morning. Same time."

He saw the four humans grumble and pout at that. Rather than berate them for their less than enthusiastic reactions, he ignored them. The training was going to be difficult, and they needed to get used to it. They have their strengths to hone and their weaknesses to overcome.

Nero stood straight before them and trumpeted his final proclamation. "Humans!" they gave them their undivided attention from his sudden outburst. "Dismissed!"

Almost immediately after relaxing, they retreated north in a brisk walk. They were too tired to run from the training grounds that worked their bodies to the bone that they could only do a fast walk back. They spoke about today with a mix of reviews.

Nero did not pay attention to any of that. Let them complain. They needed to see how beneficial this was going to be for them. While they had many flaws on their parts, he could not help but see a bit of promise in them. They just needed to get those out properly.

He turned around to walk back to the forest, his stomach rumbling for more food. The _Iguanodon_ had a busy day ahead of him; he had another group to train later in the day.

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Prehistoric Park…right after time de-sychronization

When Daniel arrived at Prehistoric Park, he was greeted by work induced chaos. Employees were milling about, working together to move wooden beams, bringing toolboxes with construction equipment, or driving construction vehicles around. The beeping sounds of those vehicles echoed in the air, along with the sounds of earth being dug up or wood being torn down.

With the park going through construction during the day, he and the rest of the new recruits were told by one of the senior employees, which Daniel recognized as Bob Arthur, that the new recruit meeting was going to be held later on in the day when it was quieter. The scheduled time was 6:00 PM. In the meantime, the new recruits were to be escorted to the Park Barracks. It was crazy, moving through the park to get to that area of the park. He and the few other recruits that arrived had to watch where they were going so as to not run into any employee or vehicle moving about.

As they went along, the secret agent took in his surroundings. Other than various small buildings here and there that served as either storage units or small workplaces, he also found the enclosures where the animals would be kept. Only, they were all empty. One of the recruits asked why there were no animals; Bob replied that since the park was being expanded, most of the Residents were moved to a temporary facility where the construction would not hinder them. Questions of what types of animals they were and where they were taken arose. The head keeper merely told them they were all "rare" animals and that the facility was "a surprise". The only animals that did remain were some of the animals that could tolerate the construction. That and they could not move due to preservation laws and all that. Bob also explained about the goal of expanding the park, which would take 2 years to complete. The recruits that did arrive would be helping in the expansion; the rest of the employees were in the other facility and will not return until construction was complete. Everyone's curiosities were piqued, including Daniel's.

The other thing that was asked was the whereabouts of Nigel Marven. The head of this place was nowhere to be found. According to Bob, he was busy tending to the female elephant herd that were in the southern part of the sanctuary. There was word that the matriarch's calf had gone missing and he was currently working to get to the bottom of it...while trying to calm the whole herd. A team was with him on trying to keep the peace. Bob then told them all that Nigel would be present at tonight's meeting.

When he arrived at the Park Barracks, he was immediately shown to his room by a young man named Marcus Rey; the engineer that Director Rain spoke with, from what he could remember from their previous talk. He was showing a small group down one of the wings in the building, where he was then taken to his room first.

It was a small room. Well, small would not be the correct statement. It was about the size of a college dorm room to be exact. There was a wooden lofted bed with an empty blue mattress, a small fridge right under it, a small desk and a black cushioned office chair in front of his bed, a wardrobe next to it, and a bookcase that was right across his bed. Right next to that bookcase was a small nightstand with a little Sony TV and a bluray player right underneath it. The walls were bare and the floor consisted of white tiles. Due to it being hot outside, the air vents in the room blasted cool air. The porch that was accessible by sliding doors in the very back of the room was uncovered; free of the blinds that provided shade. Outside, he could see part of the valley and the forest that bordered it.

"So this is your room. If you got any questions, I'll be down the hall," said the head engineer.

"Okay, thanks," he told him, getting his stuff on the floor.

"Oh and enjoy the gift basket in the wardrobe," the senior employee said the now curious recruit.

As the rest of the group was being led down the hall to their rooms, Daniel closed the door behind him. His curiosity at an all-time high, he went to the small closet and opened the double doors. Inside the elongated space, he found a large woven basket wrapped in clear plastic.

When he took it out and placed it on the bed, he began to uncover the contents. There were a few snacks and drink preps; a bag of Snyder's pretzels, some granola bars, a box of Swiss Miss milk chocolate mix, and a box of Bigelow assorted tea bags.

However, that was not the only thing that was within the basket. There were 3 DVD cases inside too.

The first DVD he looked at had three large carnivorous dinosaurs rampaging through a part desert/part forest environment. They had pale undersides but the rest of their bodies were striped. They were not T. rexes due to them having three fingers on each hand. Above them, right under a sea monster eating a pterosaur and the BBC video logo was the title; _Chased by Dinosaurs_. It was complete with the shadow of a man cutting through two of the letters.

Daniel placed the DVD on the mattress above him, slightly put off by the odd gift. The next DVD was that of a scuba diver inside a ball cage underwater. Two gigantic sea monsters were coming in to tear at the cage and eat the helpless human inside. Right under the BBC logo was _Sea Monsters: A Walking with Dinosaurs Trilogy_.

Again with the prehistoric creatures? Now that is a bit odd. He placed the DVD on the bed. When his eyes fell on the last DVD, he instantly became puzzled.

The top of the DVD had a small white colored text that said "From the Academy Award Winning Producers of _Walking with Dinosaurs_ ". Below that was a grey flying pterosaur with a long narrow slender crest. Its transparent wings were connected to its bent arms. Running below it were two grey-ish T. rexes that stomped through what looked like a grassland of sorts. In front of that was a near-colored long-necked dinosaur that craned its neck like a snake. But what was the most intriguing was the appearance of Nigel Marven, dressed in a blue long-sleeved shirt and a brown vest, smiling and holding onto a wooden fence. The title? It was _Prehistoric Park_.

Daniel was stunned. This park was named Prehistoric Park. And he had a show called Prehistoric Park? Now this was odd. Why would he name this place after a show? Daniel never knew Nigel had even been involved in this sort of thing. Also, he had never heard of this show before. Did Director Rain know about this?

Making haste, he went over to his bag. He retrieved his Macbook that he had stored away inside and placed it on the desk. Upon sitting down on the office chair, he opened the laptop that was previously on sleep mode. The screen brightened up to his gmail account page, which he conveniently left it on so that he could inform his superiors of his arrival. There were scores of previous emails from his coworkers in the past, but he immediately went straight to the compose message option.

He started typing away his message to Director Rain. His fingers flew on the keyboard, creating the little clicking sounds as they pressed the keys.

 _ **"Director,**_

 _ **I just arrived at Prehistoric Park. Why didn't you tell me that Nigel named this place after the show he used to star in? Why did he do that? Did you know anything about this?**_

 _ **I haven't seen too much of this place, but I barely saw any animals here. Some of the enclosures that are here had fences much too large than normal sized fences. Nigel's moved most of the animals to another facility so that they won't be in the way during the expansion. I was told that the animals that remained that could not make the move were some elephants, but I'm not sure of what else is here. I have no idea where this other facility is, but it seems that the staff is being reserved about revealing its location. They surely want to keep it and the animals there a surprise.**_

 _ **I'm told that expansion will last for 2 years. I'll stay and keep you posted on anything else I find. I'll follow your orders and keep a low profile.**_

 _ **There's something off about this place. I'm going to find out what.**_

 _ **-Agent Rimbauer"**_

Daniel pressed the send button; the message left his inbox to go to its recipient. As he waited for a response from her, he thought about what he learned today. The walls of the enclosures were large; perhaps they had some big cats here and they were preventing them from escaping. Maybe they also had some more elephants and those fences were there to keep them inside. But if they were elephants, then fences may not be able to keep them contained.

Perhaps they had giraffes? However if they did have giraffes, then why weren't they roaming around like the elephant herd that he was told about?

Rhinos and hippos could also be possible answers. The fences could contain them, but perhaps not an angry rhino. Perhaps they had something to further keep them in.

Before he could think more on it, he saw a new message appear at the top of his gmail list. He bolted upright when he saw Director Rain's name. The agent pressed the message and read its contents.

" _ **Agent Rimbauer,**_

 _ **I was just about to message you when you sent me yours. I had forgotten to mention another detail regarding Nigel. In fact, I just remembered it. Not long after his park was built and his colleague went missing, he mentioned to me in a video chat that he planned on creating a fictional TV series. He wanted to contribute to the scientific community and further paleontology education through a family-friendly series about a fictional park that rescued extinct animals via time travel technology. The long-term goal in that series was to raise said animals in a secure facility and increase their numbers before slowly introducing them to the world. While the show received positive reviews for a time, it was eventually discontinued after six episodes. Nigel mentioned in a note he sent to me that he 'wanted to spend more time tending to his sanctuary and that he ran out of ideas to keep the show going'.**_

 _ **Nigel then starred in a couple more documentaries and TV series that promoted paleontology;**_ _ **Sea Monsters: A Walking With Dinosaurs Trilogy**_ _ **and**_ _ **Chased by Dinosaurs**_ _ **. He did make a cameo in a show called**_ _ **Primeval**_ _ **, but only because he was requested to do so by the producers. After that, he never starred in another show again.**_

 _ **While this information sounds a bit coincidental, as you mentioned in your message that the fences seem too big to contain animals, let's not jump to any conclusions. They may be remnants from the TV series and Nigel decided to keep them there. He is an eccentric man and has his own way of doing things.**_

 _ **As I mentioned before, don't make any immediate decisions. Keep a low profile. Get as much information as you can. I know you mentioned in your previous message that expansion will last for 2 years, but do anything to get more information, including seeing what the animals are. I don't care if it takes that whole time.**_

 _ **Good luck.**_

 _ **-Director Lorrie Rain"**_

Daniel gleaned over the message at least two more times. His superior knew of this sort of thing and yet she just remembered it. Then the gift basket he was given had those DVDs that Nigel Marven was featured in. Why was he given those? Was it to introduce the man he was going to work for during the next 2 years?

While those questions floated in his mind, he started to formulate how he was going to get any more information regarding this place, including the animals. Perhaps Nigel's office could give some answers. He could try to interrogate the staff members here, but the Director told him to lay low.

No, he needed to gain the trust of Nigel first. Sometimes, getting all of the answers requires getting on the target's good side. He'll need to play along for a while.

Daniel got up and went over to the gift basket, wanting to analyze if there were any more contents inside. When he took out some tissues, he found a yellow card. He took it and opened it. Inside, there was a note.

" _ **Welcome new recruit. There's a special prize for you in the fridge. Enjoy!"**_

Wondering about what kind of surprise it was, Daniel went over to the small black fridge underneath the bed. He knelt down and opened the door. The cold air from the ice box wafted in his face, bringing a chill on his skin. His eyes fell on a medium-sized tupperware with a pink cap that was inside.

The agent took the bowl and saw a small scribbled note pasted on the lid.

" _ **Exotic Butters**_

 _ **Last worker from Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental did not want these. Enjoy!"**_

The agent rolled his eyes. He immediately got the joke. Apparently, someone had placed these there to play off of the _Five Nights at Freddy's Sister Location_ game. It was most likely a little joke made by one of the staff members here. He never played the series, but he did hear of playthroughs from some office mates gossiping about Youtubers like Markiplier and Jacksepticye that played it. Exotic Butters was used in that one playthrough by Markiplier.

He opened the lid. Sure enough, the contents inside had loads of small butter packs. Each golden lid featured flavors like Himalayan salted butter, almond milk butter, escargot butter, red wine butter, and even mustard butter. Daniel had never heard of these flavors in butters before. Whoever put these here really did go through with playing this joke.

Suddenly, he felt his stomach rumble. He placed a hand on it. The young man realized that he had not eaten anything since leaving Johannesburg hours ago.

Answering the call, he grabbed for the Himalayan salted butter, closed the bowl, placed it back in the fridge, and closed the ice box door. He made his way to his door and closed the door behind him.

"Investigating and unpacking can wait. I think I'll get a snack first," he mused.

Daniel promptly left the barracks into the hot African valley to make his way to the bistro that he was told was nearby the building outside. Some brunch would satisfy his hunger pangs for this afternoon.

Classification: Internal Use


	18. Parental Apprehension

_**Hey guys. Darksage and Marc here with yet another chapter to Long Night of Winter. Man...it's been one crazy Thanksgiving and a bunch of stuff came our way as of late. Now, just as a head's up, with Christmas around the corner, we'll be a bit busy with preparing for the holiday and we'll also be attending other social stuff (some of us may be going out of town). Therefore, we'll most likely not have access to internet for most of December. We should be available once January rolls around. Anyway, we just wanted to let you guys know. Other than that, enjoy the chapter, Happy late-Thanksgiving, an early Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa etc. and Happy New Year! Disclaimer: We don't own Prehistoric Park, Disney's Dinosaur, Walking with Dinosaurs BBC, Walking with Dinosaurs 2013, March of the Dinosaurs/The Great Dinosaur Escape, and Dinosaur Revolution along with any other media mentioned.**_

While Hazel was busy with making sure things ran smoothly in the park and the department heads plus Hanna were undergoing rigorous training under Nero's guidance, a small group of Residents were gathering nearby the wooden walls of Temporary Park. With the fear of the incoming winter and the whole park preparing for its arrival, there just did not seem to be a lot of the usual positivism circulating around. Other than playing or helping each other out, a few of the Residents had come up with a way to cope with such a problem by coming up with little get-togethers to lift everyone's spirits.

This was the case with a few of the park's Resident mothers. Woodstock had called Breezy the day before to tell everyone that there was going to be a maternal get-together; something fun that mothers can go to when they needed a break from their children or if they needed some advice. Per the sauropod's request, she mentioned that when she lived in the Salt Plains, the mothers in her herd or around the Water Hole would do this sort of thing as a way to get to know each other. They would regal each other with gossip, their childhoods, their love life, past experiences, and other stories.

Out of the hundreds of Residents in the valley, only six managed to make it to the meeting, which was planned to begin after breakfast; besides Woodstock, there was Neera, Ornith, Sabrina, Lethe, and Plio. Despite a good fraction of her body being covered by bandages, that did not stop the alpha female _Iguanodon_ from socializing, or continuing her duties as co-leader of her herd. A few stab wounds did nothing to suppress her walking.

While the days were getting shorter and they could not tell time like the humans, the Residents could tell when it was time to eat by their hunger. And this also included with the sun always being behind the clouds as well.

The cloudy days also brought about decreasing temperatures. When it was 48 degrees the previous day, it was now 40 degrees. Winter was approaching, and everyone anticipated it to become much colder when it arrives. At least there were no rolling clouds of fog this time.

"Alright, so every dudette is here and accounted for?" asked the towering Woodstock, who looked over the circle of mothers that had gathered.

Lethe snorted after setting herself on the ground, with Sabrina following suit to her left. "Well just the ones that wanted to join in after Breezy made that announcement yesterday. Honestly, couldn't you have picked a more appropriate time to create a club? This was rather last minute."

"Hey, I was itching for a little get-together," the hippie _Supersaurus_ replied.

Sabrina made a sultry purr. "Hm...well regardless I could go for this sort of thing. It gives me a break from constantly keeping those two cubs from getting at each other or babysitting Cesar."

The rest of the females giggled at her near-accurate description of her mate. Cesar may be a strong male Saber, but sometimes he would complain about the littlest things, like that one time when the Valley Herd's _Struthiomimus_ kept on wandering into his favorite napping spot when they first arrived. That and sometimes he would say the wrong things and Sabrina would need to reel him in.

When Woodstock had Breezy give out that invitation, she literally meant the entire park, regardless of their dietary occupation. Most of the carnivores in the park were not parents, except for one particular group. Sabrina was the only one to join. The herbivores in the group outnumbered her 5:1, but nobody minded. They had been around the Sabers long enough to know that they would not dare attack their own neighbors. In other words, Sabrina was their friend. Cesar was out hunting with Tai and Sable and Sabrina needed some time to herself. Her reasons for attending this meeting were to get some advice on being a "proper" mother.

Atop Ornith, who was lying on her pale-colored stomach, was Plio. The Alaskan wilds were certainly no place for a primate adapted for a warmer region. Nevertheless, the lemurs wanted to get fresh air rather than stay cooped up in their enclosure, especially the adventurous ones. Some of the park's vets decided to help them by creating thermals made out of special materials to keep their bodies warm. Making them was going to take a while, and Plio wanted to join the mothers' meeting. As a quick substitute, she was given a light-green and brown spotted fluffy fleece blanket and socks meant for her. Her body was wrapped in that soft fabric while she wore matching-colored fleece socks, which succeeded in keeping her feet warm. Attire like this would be odd to most lemurs, but they worked in keeping her warm…at least for the most part.

"I take it no one else decided to come? Some of the mothers in my clan were hesitant in going," she said when she slightly waved the blanket that covered her with her arms, "for obvious reasons."

The red _Supersaurus_ flicked her tail and cocked her head. "Yeah, it's their loss. Maybe they'll change their minds later."

She started the meeting by having the group introduce themselves to each other, even though they were already well-acquainted. To make it fun, she asked them to mention something funny they did in the past or something interesting about themselves. This was, as humans would call it, an ice breaker. All of the mothers were skeptical about this sort of gathering, but they heeded Woodstock's request and went along with it. The meeting started off without a hitch, but neither of them knew that they were expecting some more visitors later on.

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Beth stepped out into the cold Alaskan air, her face immediately chilled at the frosty breeze that hit her. The door to the bistro shut behind her. She hugged herself as she put her gloved hands at her pits. While the light green sweatshirt was warm, she wore a thick turtleneck inside as an added measure. This may be enough for now, but she would need to prepare herself better when the colder days arrive.

As much as she would rather stay inside her room where she was relatively safe from the roaming Residents, her stomach had other plans.

Hanna had been giving her food from the bistro as a result of her seclusion. She appreciated her food being brought to her, and she did not mind the fact that cabin fever had been creeping up on her. After all, she would rather suffer from boredom than to risk her life going outside with all of these animals roaming about. Then, Hanna told her that she was going to be going through a workout routine for the next couple of weeks. As much as she did not want her daughter to go out and risk her life with the Residents about, she did not want her to stay cooped up inside all day. As long as she stayed close to the buildings and around people, then she should be okay.

In fact, the previous night, she was told that she and a few other employees went through a serious workout routine. Unfortunately, her youngest was too tired to talk about it that she collapsed on her bed and fell asleep. Then, when morning came, she was already gone.

At least she was keeping herself busy with something.

Now she had the problem of dealing with trying to get food for herself while she was gone. With Hanna doing this "training", her daughter has no time to bring food to the room.

Beth had to creep cautiously through the park; always watching her back for any Resident that was coming to her. Her heart was pounding viciously as she went through the sanctuary. All of the enclosures that she passed by had different plants and other habitat exclusive props. Sadly, the plants that were meant to be for tropical regions were beginning to wither. Brown patches were covering the vegetation. Some of the leaves were falling. The floors of the different enclosures were all coated with opaque frost. But the one thing they all had in common were the single large, white tents that were set up. The tents all had a generator running on the outside while a heater was whirring within. Beth could feel the heat from inside the tents as she passed by.

The woman did encounter employees as she passed by. A few of them greeted her politely, which she just waved at quickly before walking off. Most of them were too busy with getting the park ready for the coming winter, whether it was doing inventory on the enclosures, moving pieces of equipment around, or reinforcing the generators that may break during the winter storms. This, however, also led to her having close encounters with some wandering Residents.

When she got closer to the Barracks, she started to see some of the animals that lived in the park. Her daughter was not kidding when she said that those inside the enclosures would be allowed to roam. Thankfully, all she got were curious grunts and odd stares. They were going all over the park, doing who knows what. They were probably going around to get some food elsewhere or to meet someone. Beth did not bump into any of them and she did her best to not make eye contact.

At least…that was what she thought.

The protective mother yelped when she ran into a large shape after going around one of the buildings. The woman yelped when she landed on her rump, the shock of it spread throughout her body. The cold frost seeped through her jeans, freezing her bottom. She rubbed her upper thigh and winced at the slight pain.

"Ow!" she massaged her butt gingerly.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" cried what seemed to be a young woman. "I didn't see you there. Are you okay?"

Beth shook her head and opened her eyes. Her vision was a little shaky from the collision, but it soon cleared up in a matter of seconds. She wished it did not as she was now looked the frill and stout face of a large, pale-skinned dinosaur.

It was large, probably about the size of a rhino. Its whole body was pale, but it had light orange accents throughout its body. Well, to be more precise, its frill was outlined with orange and had three stripes going down the main palate. Curved, dainty horns decorated the top of the frill, with what seemed to be two smaller horns jutting from behind the bony snout.

At first, she was speechless. Her lower jaw quivered, but she failed to make any credible words. Incoherent gibberish was all that she uttered. But none of that matched that of the shock she received. Here was a dinosaur, something that was thought to be extinct for millions of years, which just spoke in plain English!

Beth could not believe it. This thing just talked! Did she really hit her head that hard? Was she dreaming? Did the roasted chicken she just ate have something in it and now she's hallucinating?

"Um…sorry?" said the dinosaur, who was apparently a young female. "I didn't quite get that last one."

"You...you can talk!" she finally was able to say shakily. "Oh my GOD! You are actually talking!"

The horned female perked her head to the side, one of her eye ridges went up. "Uh yeah? I've been talking to you the whole time," she said as that beak of hers moved.

"How is this...," she paused. Something clicked in her mind about this. She reached for her right ear; she gasped when she felt it. It was a small metal and silicon object that was placed inside and protruding out. The woman quickly took it out and observed the object.

She looked at the little earpiece. It looked almost like a hearing aid except it had some pieces of unknown tech built in it. Beth instantly recognized it as one of those communicators those employees were wearing around the park. And from what her eldest daughter told her, it was what allowed humans to understand the Residents.

It was then that Beth remembered that she was indeed given this communicator two days ago, when she and Hanna were given that room assignment in the Barracks. She had forgotten that she put the communicator on earlier in the morning. It was due to the fact that if she was going to be staying there for a while, she should at least have something give her a better chance of survival. If she was able to understand the Residents or the animals of this time, she should at least have this on to better her chances. Beth could not believe she forgot about it.

She also did not pay attention to the fact that when she removed the communicator, the words coming out of the female dinosaur's mouth became groans and grunts. Sensing that she was missing out on something critical, she hastily put it back on. The animal sounds transformed into plain English again.

" _ **GROA**_ -ids and I are lost. We were going around checking out the rest of this place after hearing that there are carnivores living here. I was wondering if you could tell us where they are. We couldn't find any roaming around."

Beth inquisitively looked at her after getting over the shock of the immediate language transition. What did she mean by children? When she asked herself that, she noticed some movement behind the female dinosaur's legs. She was flabbergasted when she found five baby dinosaurs peeking from behind the adult's limbs. Were these her children?

The one on the very left looked to be the biggest, and possibly the eldest. It looked a lot like the adult as the skin was beige in color and had orange stripes down its back. Like the rest of the youngsters, this one lacked any horns, most likely due to age. The eyes were light brown, like the others around it.

Hiding right beside her on the other side of the left leg were two more youngsters. Both of them had bright orange hides with white stripes on their backs. The only difference between the two of them was the number of stripes on the frill palates; one had two stripes while the other had one single stripe.

On the right leg were two more youngsters. One of them had a radically different color scheme then the other younglings. This one was light green like blades of grass. The only thing that it did have from the other children was the orange stripes along the posterior. The last one was smaller than the rest; this one had bright reddish-orange skin with beige stripes along the back.

Five children and one adult; this was a family.

The human slowly got back up, still rubbing her rump to ease the aching. She sounded innocent enough. Perhaps these creatures did not mean her any harm. The only thing they were asking for were some directions. She did sound like a respectful young woman.

Beth frowned, still watching the group with suspicion. "So…you don't know your way around? You don't live here?"

The female _Pachyrhinosaurus_ replied immediately. "Well, before all of this happened, my herd would migrate here every year when it gets colder. But with this new...situation, my family and I wanted to at least acquaint ourselves with our new neighbors, specifically the meat-eating ones. We hear they're friendly, so we wanted to get an opinion on them first."

So these must be a couple members of that other herd that Hazel mentioned during that meeting. Even though they did not seem to be dangerous, Beth figured that they could attack her if she was hostile towards them. And she certainly did not want to get rammed by that bumpy snout or stabbed by those horns. Or even get run over. But if they were going to attack her, they would have the moment they saw her.

The green-clad human nodded in understanding. They seemed to be okay for the moment.

"Hey, maybe you could lead us around as our guide?" the dinosaur suggested.

Beth shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't do that. I don't work here and I'm just as clueless as you are."

The pale creature frowned; at least, Beth thought so with that beak of hers. When she said that, she felt the slightest pang of guilt. What she said was honest, but this family seemed to be lost. All they were asking for were directions. Judging from that explanation she heard, they used to come to this valley a lot until this place was occupied by the park. The buildings and the new Residents here must have skewed their sense of direction a bit.

Then there was the other part of the explanation. They were looking for carnivores. While they were looking for the park's Resident carnivores, the idea seemed too absurd! It was like they were offering themselves up for lunch. Yet, they were told that the carnivores here were friendly. Was Hazel right? Had she convinced them that they had nothing to fear? Well, if the carnivores were roaming around, and there have not been any attacks, then maybe everything was going to be okay?

No has been attacked. She did not hear of any carnivores going rogue and turning on everyone here. This family needed help; they had no way of moving around themselves.

Beth rubbed her chin with an index finger, pondering on a thought. "Well, I believe that someone in the outskirts of the park may help. There are a lot of...Residents and maybe a few employees here that may know a thing or two about the carnivores. I haven't been there myself, but there are signs here that can lead you there."

The female perked her head at the jargon she made. "Signs?"

The human's eyes went wide. That's right; they have no knowledge of human terminology. It was then that she said something that went against what she was thinking ever since arriving in Temporary Park. "Oh...well I suppose you can't get there easily, at least not without some human help. I guess I can take you there."

She wanted to smack herself. Why did she say that? What kind of mess did she just get herself into? This was not her job! If anything, this was the job of one of the employees or some other Resident here!

The light-skinned dinosaur smiled but then became puzzled. "Great! Thanks...uh...what was your name?"

Oh wonderful…now she wants to get acquainted. "Beth Silva. But, you can call me Beth."

"Okay, I'm Juniper," said the female. She then lowered her head and gestured to the children that were hiding. "Girls, it's okay. She's friendly. You can come out."

At the call of their mother, the younglings slowly crept up from behind her legs. The first one to come out was the largest one. Following close behind her were the rest of her siblings. Except for the pale-colored youngling, the other girls seemed reserved to socialize with her.

The eldest spoke, groggily at first but then it became clear. "Hi. I'm Magnolia, but you can call me Maggie."

When she introduced herself, the others followed her example. The one who spoke next was the one with green skin. She stood next to her sister, putting up the bravest face she could. "My name is Ivy."

The two "twins" that huddled close together as they watched the human then introduced themselves. "I'm Jasmine," said the one with two stripes on the frill. "And I'm Lilac," said the one with the single stripe.

Finally, the last one, who seemed to be the most excited, quickly ran up to her and jumped enthusiastically. "And I'm Aster. Pleasure to meet you. We have a brother; his name is Taru. He's back with our herd helping our dad with looking after everyone else."

Beth restrained herself from yelping. She was talking to living, breathing dinosaurs. And these were children too. For creatures that could grow up to be strong enough to ram their weights against anything and break them, they were quite gentle.

She let out a shaky breath and replied cordially. "Oh...it's nice to meet you too," she cleared her throat and looked up at the sky. It was cloudy, but at least it was still bright enough for her to see. "Well we better get a move on before it gets dark. I don't want to be out here when nighttime comes."

The small group went on their way towards the outskirts of the park. The family of _Pachyrhinosaurus_ stayed close to Beth's heels, like little lost dogs staying close to their owner. She kept herself calm along the way; once she helped them find a guide, she was going to head straight back to her room. She did not want to be involved with these creatures longer than she had to.

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With most of the Residents gathering in the park outskirts to either socialize or to sustain themselves with the nourishment provided, the smallest hint of normalcy was trying to make itself apparent among everybody. The two herds that were in the valley were doing their best to coexist with each other, despite being from different times and places. The mingling was a bit tense, but some found it easy to get on common ground with their temporary neighbors.

The group of mothers that were gathered just outside of the hub was an example that showed that there could be peace in this harsh time. The meeting had reached a point where everyone's ice had been broken. Being around kindred spirits lightened this dark day. They had moved from talking about things that their peers did not know about regarding their children to saying embarrassing stories.

One such volunteer was Lethe, who was dared to tell an embarrassing story at the request of the enthusiastic Ornith.

"So my mate, Styx, and I decided to give my friends a hard time one night. We were so in love and being in a herd during a harsh time, we wanted to spend time together. So there we were, at the edge of our Feeding Grounds, just spending quality time with each other."

The blue _Ornithomimus_ giggled almost conniving. "Ooh, careful ladies! It's about to get steamy in here!" she announced, causing the other women to snicker.

The normally primp Lethe continued on with her story while trying to hide any hint of embarrassment. "Well, let's just say I enjoyed it so much that I honked out and literally woke up the whole herd that night."

Lethe's usual sandy-colored face turned pinkish at the surge of awkwardness she felt when the whole group burst into laughter. The story was so funny that some of them bellowed raucously out of amusement. They were even getting awkward glances from those that were nearby, human and Resident, or Alaskan Pachyrhinosaur, alike. Neither of them expected that a hadrosaur that was typically prim and proper could have acted that way.

"Okay, I remember that time! Hahaha!" Neera laughed with tears in her eyes. "I was off getting a drink when suddenly, everyone's heads shot up in surprise. Everyone thought we were being attacked; we all got into a circle and kept an eye out for predators until morning came."

The _Parasaurolphus_ shuddered and cleared her throat, trying to save face. "Yes...that was my fault," she then sighed sadly. "But that was back then...before the first Fireball."

The air in the group immediately became somber at the mention of the disaster. The women that were laughing fell silent. Neera looked at her sympathetically. Everyone in the group had their share of loss in the past.

Before any of them could say anything to console the hadrosaur, their attention was drawn by the sound of footsteps coming towards them from the rear. All of them peered to the back of the group and were surprised to see who was coming. There were two individuals, one a pale-skinned _Pachyrhinosaurus_ , and the other a human woman with black hair that was tied into a low ponytail and wore a green sweatshirt and jeans.

The group looked at each other with uncertainty, not knowing what to do with visitors like these. Silence permeated when the newcomers stopped before the group, until it was finally broken by one of their number.

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Beth wasn't really listening to what was really going on. Whatever these dinosaurs were talking about, she did not care. The only thought that was going through her mind was "I'm walking with living, breathing dinosaurs that can talk". These communicators work; that much she was still trying to comprehend. How were these little hearing aids able to translate animalistic sounds to pure English? How was Nigel able to do such a thing? Did her late husband have anything to do with it?

As she walked with Juniper and her daughters to the border of the park outskirts, she kept thinking if this was some sort of dream and she was having a hard time waking up from. If she went back into her room, maybe she could bring herself to reality. Well, if this were a dream, it was all too real.

"Oh, it looks like we have some visitors," the pinkish-purple quadruped female said to the group.

Beth stood tall, bracing herself as she was being presented to this group of dinosaurs. She nearly lost her footing when the long-necked dinosaur in front of her started speaking in a hippie-esque voice.

"Awesome! We've got some more to add to our little number. Looks like Breezy got through to convincing some more ladies to join us in the club."

The ceratopsian next to her opened her beak at the odd inquiry. "What? No, I don't know what you're talking about. We didn't know there was a meeting here. We just needed some help was all."

It was at that moment that the pink and purple quadruped nearby peered closer to them. Beth noticed the bandages wrapped around parts of her body and deduced that she had been through some kind of fight recently. Her eyes narrowed as she took in their details. Beth closed her eyes, praying that this was not one of those carnivores in the park. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found she was not eaten on sight. Instead, the female ornithopod said something rather interesting.

"Wait, you're one of the leaders of that other herd from the other day," she said, pertaining to the pale ceratopsian.

Juniper's jaw fell agape when she mentioned that. She too eyed the ornithopod closely, only to find that she too was a familiar face. "Oh! It's you, from that one day," she then laughed anxiously. "Hehe...I see that you're looking better. I guess the humans here fixed you up really good. Heh..."

The wounded one smirked and slightly turned her body, wincing a little when she did. She hissed under her breath before relaxing when she finally sat facing them. "Yeah they did. But I'm still a bit sore on a few parts."

The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ sullenly apologized. "Listen, I'm sorry about the other day. I didn't mean to call you skinny-legs nor did I mean to hurt you. I wasn't really thinking straight-."

The female stopped her there. "It's okay. You and your herd have been through a lot. If there was anything to blame, it was the stress and miscommunication. Besides, had I been in your position, I may have done the same thing if my mate or my family were in danger too."

"Yeah...listen, we got off on the wrong foot. How about we start over?"

The one in question nodded and made a small smile, accepting the suggestion. "I'd like that."

Suddenly, the red-toned sauropod that towered over everyone else rumbled with laughter. "Aw now isn't this sweet? Now we're all buddy-buddy with the new folks. I just love it when folks go down the road to forgiveness and compassion."

"And I am glad that there isn't any more unnecessary fighting," said another female next to her.

When Beth turned her attention to the one who just spoke, she could have sworn she was dreaming. Sitting atop the smaller one with the skinny neck and long legs was a white and brown furred monkey. Her mind raced and she remembered that she ran into a few when she and Hanna accidentally came to this place. This must be one of them. What she was more surprised about was that she just spoke! It would seem that this communicator can do more than just translate dinosaur speak. It could translate mammals too.

"So, it looks like you are new here. Excuse us for our manners. I'm Plio," the primate introduced herself. She then gestured her blanket-covered hands to each one of the other females in the group.

"This is Ornith, the _Iguanodon_ next to me is Neera, the _Parasaurolophus_ over there is Lethe," she started while each member nodded or said hello.

When Beth looked over at "Lethe" she saw the crested dinosaur raise a hoof up. A voice so eloquent sounded from that odd duckbill mouth of hers. "You're that human I ran into the other day."

The mother of the two Verans gasped. Her thoughts raced back to that very day when she and Hanna were being overwhelmed by the park. This was the very dinosaur that kept biting at her from before and then honked loudly!

"Wait, that was you!?"

Lethe nodded. "Indeed. My apologies for the failed first impression. I was merely trying to help you up and...well I suppose my loud outburst set you off."

Beth tried to save face at the new information she was given. So what happened earlier was a huge misunderstanding on her part. She was not trying to eat her after all. "Oh...well, I couldn't understand you. You were...trying to help?"

"I was, yes. But let's not get too caught up with any misunderstandings of the past or create any unnecessary accusations. If I understand what I was told by others here, that day was quite a...how do humans say it these days? It was a crazy day."

"I…suppose so," she replied uneasily. "Well...I'm Beth. And the one next to me is Juniper. As you all said before, we're new here, but more me than her."

The woman gasped when the elongated narrow snout of the longneck from before hovered in front of her. The creature took a few sniffs at her and then the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ female. Unlike Beth, Juniper seemed to be a bit calmer than her at this one's approach.

"Hello new dudettes. I've got to say, I've never seen you here. The name's Woodstock," the sauropod introduced. Her happy exterior became even more excited when she found herself looking at something intriguing about the pale armored one. Her eyes darted down to the five little ones that crept up from behind their mother. "Rock on! I didn't know this armored lady is a mom herself! Your kids are just so friggin' cute!"

Sure enough, all of the mothers in the group fawned over the appearance of the children. The girls huddled close to each other for safety before retreating to the cover of their mother's legs.

"Hello children. My, aren't you adorable. Would you like to come out? We'd all like to see you," said Ornith sweetly.

Juniper looked down at her daughters. As they all watched their mother, she silently moved her frilled head forward, telling them that it was okay. The younglings slowly came forward, shyly watching the strangers whisper and adore their arrival. With all the comments they were receiving, they soon relaxed when they found that they were not in immediate danger.

"Oh how cute. They must be at least a year old," went Plio, who held her blanket tightly when a cool breeze wafted.

The orange-beige child, whom Beth knew as Maggie, stepped forward to introduce her and her sisters. "Hi. I'm Maggie. These are my sisters; Aster, Lilac, Ivy, and Jasmine."

When she said that, the one with two stripes on her frill spoke up inquisitively, particularly to Woodstock. She ran around in circles while looking up at the gentle giant. "Wow...you're big!"

She was then followed by her sister, Aster, who was doing the same thing. "Even bigger than a tree too! Maybe she could touch the sky? Ooh! I wonder if she'll allow us to climb her back! I want to see the whole valley in her vantage point!"

"Forget the height! She looks strong!"

The _Supersaurus_ took on a deeper shade of red at the flux of comments she was getting. "Aw, shucks! Stop it, I'll die of embarrassment!"

A lovely scene unfolded before them. Five little ones that were among strangers from another land were playing around with one of the giants. They giggled and played under the craning neck of the Jurassic denizen. Woodstock was also kind enough to let them take turns climbing on top of her head before lifting it up to its maximum height; Juniper had to be reassured with much effort from the other mothers that her girls were quite safe. Each one of the younglings was in awe when they were let back down. Aster made such a comment when she said that "it was like she was flying".

Oddly enough, Beth found the scene to be rather adorable, even though she was still uneasy being around these creatures. They did not seem to be dangerous. Perhaps her daughter's words had some truth to them.

Juniper then asked the mothers that were not so busy the very question that brought them there. "So we came here because we wanted to look for a guide around this place. It's been a while since my herd was here and obviously there have been a lot of changes. And we heard that there were some carnivores here, but they're friendly. We were hoping one of you could show us around."

The dinosaurs and the primate glanced at each other, whispering on who would volunteer to lead them around on a tour. Even Woodstock stopped just to look at what was happening, causing the playing children to stop and look as well. Things got awkward for the newcomers when one of them stepped out from her hiding spot, but it was one that put them completely off guard.

Juniper crouched a little and shook her head, ready to ram at this stranger when she saw what she sported. Beth almost screamed and huddled close to the ceratopsian for protection. Even the little girls backed away in fear when she came out. While they were all apprehensive of this stranger, everyone else around them was oddly relaxed.

Beth shivered when she saw those fangs. Those teeth could pierce any skin, even the thickest hide. Those claws could rip flesh apart. And those eyes, those slanted irises, were those of a predator.

"You're looking for a guide, you say?" the Sabertooth cat reiterated their question with a purr. "I wouldn't mind helping out."

"Oh? You're leaving?" went the _Ornithomimus_ leader.

The large feline turned to them with a toothy grin. "I enjoyed this meeting, but my legs have fallen asleep," she meowed while stretching her front paws in a cat-like fashion. "A little walk should wake up these limbs."

As if that was not surprising enough, the lemur atop Ornith's back hopped off and approached the feline huntress. The blanket she had wrapped around her billowed in the wind. She shivered a bit as she spoke to the carnivore, unafraid that she just might get eaten. "I'll come with you. I could use the exercise."

The predator nodded, accepting the lemur's company. She stretched again, making a low groan and roar before moving over to the newcomers, Plio hopping alongside her. Juniper made a small smile, but even Beth could see that she was still cautious. The only reason why the ceratopsian did not outright attack the huntress was because everyone else was not. And seeing a little mammal like Plio was around her just showed that she was harmless, at least for now. True, Juniper was too large for this Saber to take down alone, but she could kill the children easily.

Beth was terrified of her. She knew full well that Sabertooth cats were among the most dangerous predators to have ever lived. Of course this place would have them here. She just had to open her big mouth before regarding them. Those huge fangs and those claws could easily dispatch her. But judging by what she has learned, this park held a lot of surprises. This must be one of the carnivores that everyone was saying was friendly. Seeing this lemur go along with this huge cat like they were old friends was mind-boggling.

Beth stayed close to Juniper as they followed the duo, the children following close to them after their mother called them over. Having waved goodbye to the maternal group, they sought out to see what sort of things this park had in store for them.

As they proceeded to leave the outskirts, the huntress chose this time to speak up, and apparently introduce herself. "I seem to have failed to introduce myself. I was going to do so but that towering hippie beat me to it. My name is Sabrina."

"Sabrina, a pleasure," Juniper kindly acknowledged. "You're a carnivore…right?"

The brown-furred cat nodded. "Indeed. But fear not. I am in no mood to eat my neighbors. I know where my loyalties lie."

The pale mother breathed a sigh of relief, though her apprehension still remained. "Oh…good."

Sabrina chuckled. "I just ate before that meeting started."

Then, her predatory eyes met the lone human's. Beth's heart skipped a beat; she gulped as she waited for whatever comment she was going to make. This was the prime moment for her to attack them, while their guard was down. They were all within her attacking range…

"You must be the Little Cub's mother," was what she said.

Beth stammered, struggling to get a response out. What on earth did she mean by Little Cub? What was she talking about? "Little Cub?" was all she said after her embarrassing attempt at a reply.

"Hazel. It's what I call her."

Her eyes widened. Her daughter had that as a nickname? Or more importantly, there was something else that startled her. "How did you know I was-?"

Sabrina chuckled, almost sadistically in her ears. "It wasn't difficult. First off, she looks like you. Second, she smells a bit like you. Third, I heard about you from Prehistoric Park's little 'Gossip Network'."

Beth narrowed her eyes. She huffed at that last phrase. The park has a Gossip Network. So the whole of Prehistoric Park's Residents knew about her. Then maybe those other dinosaurs, except that crested female, from earlier knew of her too. They just did not say anything. What sort of things had her daughter been telling these creatures? Her thoughts deviated to her bad-mouthing her own mother. But they made up, so maybe she changed her perspective?

"I had no idea I was a topic of discussion," she tried to cloak her growing frustration on the matter.

"Yes, your arrival was…quite the talk," Sabrina said. "Now, follow me. We've got a lot of ground to cover."

The woman calmed. Figures, she was a topic in the park's Gossip Network due to her unexpected appearance in the park. Perhaps she was overthinking things, probably because she was around a giant prehistoric cat that could kill her at a moment's notice. But she could not help but think of what other things her daughter mentioned to these creatures about her.

Beth stopped, watching the dinosaurs and the two mammals go on ahead. She held up her promise; she helped Juniper and her daughters with finding a guide, two in fact. They did not need her around anymore. Besides, the new information she learned today was a bit much for her. Not to mention she did not want to be around Sabrina longer than she had to. What she needed now was a nice soft bed…

Before she could turn away, Juniper turned and called out to her, despite being a few feet away. Her daughters and the mammals continued on without stopping.

"Hey Beth?"

The woman eyed her curiously, her right foot shaking to turn and allow her body to retreat to the right towards a workshop nearby where she would be safe.

"I know this sounds a bit sudden, but considering that there are a lot of new things here and my girls and I have no experience with being around...well human stuff, I was wondering if you could accompany me?"

Beth gawked at such a request. "Excuse me?"

Juniper shifted in place, her uncertainty going up by the second. "I don't exactly trust everyone here and I was hoping to have at least a familiar acquaintance come along...just in case. Besides, you've got more experience with the...new things here. They are from, well, wherever you're from."

The mother of the park leader pondered on that for a moment. She did want to return to her room so that she could escape the outside "dangers" and think more on what she experienced, but then there was Juniper. She did not seem so bad, and neither were her daughters or Plio, or heck even Sabrina. True, she was uncomfortable with the idea of walking around with a Sabertooth cat and meeting some of the Park's Residents, but maybe this park had more to offer. Besides, staying in her room and going mad from boredom or fear would not make her stable.

Perhaps walking around with a Saber would be better. If any other predator came after her, at least there was a predator and an armored prehistoric shield/spear combination there to protect her.

Her mind settled, she nodded and picked up the pace to join Juniper. The least she could do was to humor this young woman. And who knows, perhaps she was right about the park being dangers, or perhaps she was wrong. Whatever they were going to see on this tour would prove which was more accurate.

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On their way to their first destination, which Sabrina and Plio mentioned was somewhere in the interior of the park, the group encountered some more denizens of the sanctuary. To Beth and Juniper's relief, they were all herbivores. Well, Beth was still skeptical on how friendly these creatures were, so she stuck close to her temporary companion in case things got hairy.

The creatures she met consisted of long-necked creatures similar to Woodstock, which Plio told them were _Borealosaurus_ and _Diplodocus_ , smaller long-necked creatures that were called _Plateosaurus_ , a few roaming _Ornithomimus_ like Ornith, the _Triceratops_ couple, and a few members of the Valley Herd that were going to other parts of the valley for a bite to eat.

Except for the _Ornithomimus_ , the _Microceratus_ , and the _Struthiomimus_ that they met, all of the creatures were massive to the human. Their personalities were varied from eccentric to reserved, but all of them were polite. Beth was no fan of the Jurassic Park series, but she agreed with her daughter when she thought they were in something like those fictional islands. And the fact that there were humans here, looking after them or working with them on tasks that would require much effort to complete, just completed that picture. It was like she was in a whole other world together.

The only thing that she was not so quick to accept was the smell. Typical, there were roaming animals and the scent of animal manure and feces was everywhere. How was her daughter able to stand such a smell? Even she was doing her best not to gag when she was close to Juniper before. And it certainly was very disconcerting when she saw some people shoveling manure into a cart that was full of them. Beth did not want to think on what they were going to do with the waste. All she wanted to do was to stay strong and endure this tour.

While they did encounter several herbivores, it did not take very long for them to encounter their first roaming carnivores. Beth screamed when she saw the two giant, eye-crested predators that passed them by. These were the same two creatures that were with that _T. rex_ and were walking with that giant, red devil lizard from before. She along with the younglings cowered behind Juniper, who was ready to ram at them should they decide to attack. Sabrina and Plio told them that they had nothing to fear.

They were formally introduced to Big Al, or Al as everyone in the park called him, and his mate Alyssa. The Saber recanted the story of their rescue, both on separate occasions by Hazel. Beth listened in on how her daughter and a few of her friends rescued Alyssa when she was trapped in a mud hole and was about to be eaten by a few smaller, but vicious, carnivores. Al was also rescued by Hazel when he got into a fight with another _Allosaurus_ , as they were called. The male _Allosaurus_ told them the tale of his encounter with a Yellow-skinned _Allosaurus_ named Red Sand, a predator that had a heart of stone from the harsh land she lived in. She lived on survival, breathed survival, and heavily believed in it. She died in the heat of battle, but not before crippling Al. Hazel and a _Pteranodon_ named Flia brought him to Prehistoric Park where he was healed and was given a new home.

Beth could not help but be amazed by the exploits Hazel went to on rescuing these two _Allosaurus_. She risked her own skin, going back in time, just to find them, all while being accompanied by this Flia. Then, her thoughts on her relative safety loomed in her mind once more. She was not there to look after her, or to stop her from going on such an adventure.

Al and Alyssa then left, as they were on their way to begin their hunt. The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ were more inclined to associate with them, as they seemed to be respectable, despite being carnivorous and taller than them.

Then a bigger surprise came when another _Allosaurus_ came in from the opposite direction. Sabrina and Plio quickly greeted him at first sight. The newcomers all stared at the titular injury he had; a misaligned lower jaw. The predator turned and retreated the way he came when he saw the two grey carnivores that were leaving. Sabrina and Plio told them that he had a disagreement with Al some time ago and was still uncomfortable to be around them. They then met two unlikely creatures that came in to say hello; a dark grey striped small carnivore named Caius and a tiny, long-tailed pterosaur named Flit. Maggie and her sisters hid under their mother's girth when they saw the _Ornitholestes_ ; it reminded them too much of a _Hesperonychus_ or a _Troodon_. The two visitors reassured them that they were not going to eat either of them, and their claim was supported by Plio when she told them that they were already acquaintances with a few of the Valley Herd members.

Their fears calmed down, the two small carnivores showed a more playful side to them. They beckoned the children to come forth, with a bit of effort on both sides. Flit humored them when he tickled the backs of their necks when he was trying to pick off some of the bugs that were hanging around them. The girls giggled, which lessened the worry of their mother. Beth just watched them uneasily until they were called by their broken-jawed companion that they were going off to hunt.

Eventually, the traveling group made it to their first stop. It was a large-sized building about three stories high with the length being about the size of three semi-truck trailers. Just by going around it, not only were the walls up to the ceiling see through, but the whole building was in the shape of a semi-circle. The condensation inside betrayed a humid environment; it would make sense since the plants inside looked to be tropical, like a few tall palm trees and the myriads of ferns on the floor. Vines stretched from what looked to be trees that looked like oaks. Beth was no expert botanist, but she braced herself for a radical change in temperature.

Sure enough, as soon as they went through the breezeway and into the main room, she was overcome by the spike in temperature. She quickly took off her hoodie and rolled up her sleeves. The temperature was akin to that of her home in Florida on a summer day. The lights in the room made it look like it was high noon and the sounds from the hidden speakers gave off the vocalizations of insects. With the plants, the huge pond in the middle, the temperature, and the lights, Beth felt like she was in some kind of jungle.

The chittering and whooping brought her attention up to the trees. She was amazed to find not one, but several other monkeys like Plio. There were so many that she lost track after nine.

She looked down at Plio, who had already left her socks and blanket by the door and was now hopping beside them. "Plio…is that your family in the trees?"

The lemur turned to her and nodded. "Yes. I'm the matriarch of our clan."

"So you're their leader?" Juniper assumed.

"One of them. My father leads as the clan's patriarch."

Just then, a small lemur expertly leaped down from a few branches before swinging onto the floor filled with wood chips and fallen leaves. She was about half the size of Plio, had yellow eyes, and her fur was mostly brown with patches of white. This youngster quickly went up to the elder female and gave her a quick hug, something that Plio returned happily.

"Hi Mom!" she greeted.

Beth's eyes went wide. So this was Plio's daughter. Now it made sense why she was at that meeting for the park's mothers.

"Hi sweetie, how are you doing?" Plio asked her child.

"I'm doing okay. You're back early. I thought you were still at that meeting Woodstock was hosting."

Plio shrugged and sighed. "I was, but something else came up that," she glanced back at her impromptu tour group before looking back at her daughter, "needed tending to."

The little lemur peered over her mother's left shoulder. Her eyes lit up in interest at the new Pachyrhinosaurs and human that was present. "Oh, we've got visitors?"

"Yup."

The small primate caught the eye of the lone Saber in the tour group. Rather than fleeing up to the trees for security, the youngster waved at the huntress. Beth just got stumped once more with how buddy-buddy the predators and prey were in this place.

"Hey Sabrina," she greeted.

The large feline returned the gesture with a nod and a toothy grin. "Suri, I see you are taking this cold weather well."

The lemur frowned with slight impatience on her features. "Yeah, but I wish we can all go out. But the vets that are working on our 'thermies' said they're not done yet. I hope they can get them done soon. I really want to go out and get some fresh air."

Sabrina chuckled eerily. "They're called 'thermals' little one. And they'll be ready when they're ready."

Suri sighed. "Aw…okay." She then turned her attention to the newcomers present in the room. Her demeanor quickly shifted to jovial in an instant. "So you guys are new here, right? Welcome to Prehistoric Park. Er...I mean, we're not exactly there. We're in another place. Heh, sorry. I'm Suri."

Juniper giggled at the little correction she made and introduced herself and her daughters. "Um, I'm Juniper, and these are my daughters."

The younglings each introduced themselves individually. Instead of them being apprehensive, they were quite comfortable with this small mammal. Beth understood that; they were not carnivores, so it would make sense that they would have nothing to fear here. In fact, Suri found herself socializing with the girls quite well. The introductions quickly shifted to asking about favorite foods, how old they were, and what their own worlds were like.

Then, the whole introduction took a different turn when she was introduced by Juniper.

"And this is Beth," said the Pachyrhinosaur.

The lemur smiled at her while her new friends quietly waited for her to finish. "Nice to meet-," she squinted and went bug eyed, startling the human. "Hey, wait a minute. I remember you."

"Wait, what?" she distractedly said.

"Yeah! I bumped into you the other day when Uncle Zini and I and a few others were playing with Espantos. I did try to apologize, but he was kind of on our tail," the adolescent lemur recanted.

"Oh…fancy that," she laughed uneasily. Beth knew what she was talking about; this Suri was one of those lemurs that ran into her and Hanna when they first arrived. At least she knew they were just playing, but that Espantos fellow was someone that she still could not stand. Beth hoped that they would not run into him today.

Plio gently pat her daughter's shoulder to get her attention. "Suri, where's your grandfather?"

The brown and white primate looked to her mother and replied. "He's with the vets that are working on those thermals. He wanted to help them out in any way and give his input."

"I see. And your Uncle Zini and Aunt Aya?"

"They're still over with Baylene and Eema in the valley."

While the matriarch was getting an update on her family, the group found themselves surrounded by the entire lemur clan in the building. Beth was astonished at the small primates that were nimbly climbing down from the trees and vines. They all sat on fallen logs, large rocks, or just stayed on the low branches and vines. Beth even found the lemurs that had youngsters on their backs a bit adorable. Juniper and her daughters were all conversing with the new arrivals and were inquiring more on their species. They were all in different colors ranging from browns, greys and whites. Even Sabrina herself was speaking to a few of the lemurs.

She counted at least thirty lemurs, but there probably some that were still up in the trees. Just how many lemurs were in this place? The only thing that made her a bit uncomfortable was how close some of them were. A few of the youngsters got a little too curious and were tugging on her jeans to get her to play with them. Beth had to kindly tell them that she could not play with them at the moment. In her eyes, she was dealing with playful children.

The social moment ended when Suri said the one question that caused everyone to quiet down.

"Oh hey, does Irwin know you guys are here?"

Her mother gasped and held a hand close to her muzzle. "Oh goodness, I completely forgot about him."

The rest of the clan looked amongst themselves before retreating back up into the trees. Some of them giggled while others snickered. Before any of the visitors could inquire why they were retreating, they noticed a cluster of bubbles coming up from the middle of the pond. The bubbles popped, causing multiple ripples to permeate over the water.

Juniper called her children back, unsure as to what sort of creature was coming up to greet them. She took the lemurs retreating as some sort of a warning sign. The pale ceratopsian crouched down, prepared to ram at the creature that was coming at them.

The only person that refused to retreat or even back up was Beth. Her curiosity was getting the better of her as she was getting too close to the edge of the pond.

The woman felt a paw push her back. She gasped from the sudden gesture and who was doing it.

"You may want to stand back," Sabrina told her warily.

Beth did not ask twice on that. She quickly retreated to where Juniper was, hoping that she would be able to defend her from whatever was coming.

When the bubbles hit the edge of the pond, a huge shape burst out of the water. Out of the water spray was a narrow scaled snout with lines of sharp teeth. The surprise attack partially drenched them, making them a bit uncomfortable. A primeval hiss and a roar escaped from the thing's maw. Beth had little time to properly see what it really was; her brain was already processing that they were now in danger.

The visiting females screamed. The girls hid under their mother for protection. The shape that came to greet them was a huge crocodilian with greyish scales.

The crocodile's head rested on the bank; its reptilian eyes locked onto the quivering females.

"G'day Sheilas!" the crocodile, apparently male with an Australian accent, rumbled with laughter.

Juniper pawed at the ground and snorted. Her eyes locked onto the near-fifty foot creature; her horns poised to stab at the predator and her bony snout was ready to break some bones. Only when Plio placed a hand on one of her legs did Juniper back off.

"It's alright Juniper," the prehistoric primate reassured. "He's harmless."

"But he's a carnivore!" the Alaskan native argued. "He was going to eat us!"

Sabrina came up to her and quickly quelled her fears. "Far from it. Irwin here enjoys performing jump scares on whoever comes close to him. But for a fearsome predator, he did poorly in his ambush tactic."

Irwin hissed annoyingly at the pseudo insult. The water around him flayed with him lifting his head slightly in an effort to make himself a little bigger. "Hey come on, Grumpy Cat! I just wanted to build up the tension before my big appearance."

If Beth were not afraid of the huge lizard in front of her, she would have found that funny. She did hear of Grumpy Cat before; some of her coworkers back at her job had memes of that stupid cat. The other thing that was a bit fun to watch was Sabrina growling at the crocodile for the nickname that she was given.

"That never works," the feline huntress rolled her eyes. "And you know full well that I hate that name!"

"Hey sorry, couldn't help it. The name stuck to me as soon as that little ankle-biter Hazel told me."

The frightened trance the human was in faded at the mention of her daughter's name. This creature was close to her eldest? Was this one of her friends? Beth ran up to the _Deinosuchus_ , ignoring the calls of Juniper to come back. "Wait, you know Hazel?"

The dinosaur-eating predator laughed at the incredulous woman. "Of course I do, everyone in the park does."

It was then that his eyes fell on the figure in front of him. He moved his head to the left, allowing his reptilian gaze to fall on her. Beth froze; the silence between the two of them was thick. The only sounds that sounded off were the heavy breathing and rumbling from the giant crocodile and the near-inaudible chittering of the rest of the lemurs from the trees. She did not know what to make of this situation. He was analyzing her from top to bottom.

What was he thinking? Was he judging her or something? If Beth was scared, she was outright frightened now.

Her answer came when he straightened himself and spoke to her. "You must be the girl's mother."

The Asian woman's left brow went up. "Oh. So you do know about me. I'm guessing the park's Gossip Network told you?"

Irwin scoffed. "I don't need the Gossip Network to tell me your relation to her. She looks a bit like you. Wasn't hard to figure out."

"That was almost exactly what I told her," remarked Sabrina from behind her.

"Your daughter's a fun one," said Irwin as he recanted how much he liked her daughter's company. "There may be a hundred or so humans running the park back at home but she's an absolute beaut. Every now and then we'd have a little chat on how things are going. She'll tell me about the adventures she goes on, in her perspective of course, or what's been happening in her life and I would tell her of the many bouts I went through. Heck, she likes to play with my food a bit; make it a challenge, you know."

Beth squinted. "Play with your food?"

Irwin grinned a most crocodilian way. "Yeah! My food is usually put up on a line and she would yank it back as soon as I make my jump. It allows me to work on my jumping skills from the water. It's a good workout for me and a laugh for her."

Right when he said that, the mother _Pachyrhinosaurus_ from the back stormed up to him. Her face lit up with massive doubt. She pawed the ground a bit, ready to ram into the large carnivore. She may be on land, but the female alpha looked like she was going to attack him regardless of the handicap.

"Uh I'm, sorry, but food?" she investigated the meaning of the words. "Are you saying that in your home, the ones who live there offer themselves up to you?"

Beth hoped that was not true. If there was something she knew about zoos, it's that they would never offer up other Residents to the other animals. Surely, they would not do it here. But this was a dinosaur that knew nothing of that concept. And she hoped that this place did not do that sort of thing either.

Irwin chuckled at the ceratopsians that were in the room. "Ah, I almost forgot about you. Never seen you Sheilas before. I'm guessing you're with that new herd that arrived."

"Um…yeah?" one of the younglings, Aster, said from the back.

"As for your question, no. The food that the park feeds me is already dead. It's none of the other Residents that are in Prehistoric Park. The humans usually feed me pork, beef, chicken, turkey, goat, and a bunch of other meat that's from their world. Actually, I think I was fed goose one time; tasted like turkey though."

Juniper's eyes peered at the crocodile for any signs of fibbing. "And it's…none of your neighbors?"

Her daughter Maggie then added onto her question with something a little more innocent. "Where do the humans get your food?"

The _Deinosuchus_ chortled at the inquiries he was getting. For a large carnivore that could kill them in an instant, he was taking this in stride. "Lady, of all the years I've lived with everyone at Prehistoric Park, I've never been fed Resident a la carte before. The humans there would never feed us the bodies of the friends we made," he then looked over at Maggie, "And from my knowledge, the meat comes from outside the park. They get shipped to the place in these vehicles, which I'll save you the trouble on saying what they are."

The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ female backed down, her suspicions were sated, though she appeared to still be wary. "Okay…I suppose I'll take your word for it."

Beth too relaxed. This Irwin fellow seemed to be respectable, even though he was a killer himself. Her daughter seemed to still be in one piece and he did not harm her or anyone else. The creature's kind-hearted side was confirmed when the children all went up to him to ask him all sorts of questions about himself, in which the crocodile just regaled them with stories of his bouts with other dinosaurs in the past.

What was really mind-boggling was that the lemurs here were sharing their space with such a predator. They seemed to have gotten used to his presence that they had nothing to fear from him. Beth had to ask Plio about that, which the lemur explained in turn that her clan had gotten used to wandering around the park that they were practically used to living with the carnivores. Irwin was one of the friendlier ones and they learned to respect him. They discovered that he was rather rough at times, but was a jovial soul too, something the clan got along with. This also helped when they were told that they were going to room with him in Temporary Park.

The group remained in the crocodile house for a few more minutes before they decided it was time to leave. A couple of veterinarians came in to check up on the lemurs as they were going out. Plio was given a specially made coat that they sewed overnight to serve as a substitute for the blanket until the thermals were created. Beth giggled at the miniature garment that Plio wore; it was a brown fleece coat with white linings and a fluffy hood made of cotton. The matriarch lemur was surprised when it was put on and found that it was really warm. Even after she put on her socks and rushed out the doors, she did not shiver in the slightest.

With the visit with Irwin and the lemurs done, Sabrina and Plio led them towards their next destination. The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ seemed to be a bit more open now that they met a couple of the friendly carnivores. However, Beth was still reserved about them, especially around Sabrina. Nevertheless, she kept her composure and followed along with them. She had a promise to keep after all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The tour went on for the next hour. The tiny group met more Residents along the way, most of which were herbivorous. They also encountered several employees who inquired on what they were up to. Sabrina and Plio explained to them the situation and they offered to assist by answering any questions they had. Two of them introduced themselves as Kevin and Mike, who were a couple of keepers that just finished cleaning the _Plateosaurus_ enclosure.

This came to be quite useful when the group visited the Bug House. Beth had to keep it together when they got to the jungle-like greenhouse, both physically and emotionally. Physically because she was no fan of insects and the sudden rise in oxygen levels were uncomfortable. Her lungs felt like they were about to explode when they came into the indoor enclosure. Plio chose to remain outside not because she had anything against the insects, but rather the increase in oxygen levels did not agree with her. She told the group that she had an experience in such a habitat and she did not like it.

When they were shepherded in, they were introduced to the giant denizens of the Carboniferous. Beth nearly lost it when Twitch the _Meganeura_ started hovering in front of her, blabbing about "new Two-leg" and "new Scaled-legs". Juniper was startled to say the least, but her children were frightened by the flying insect that they could squish if it were like its smaller cousins.

Sabrina and the two keepers with them had to reel them back and explain the Residents. The idea that the bugs in this place lived in a world where oxygen levels were at an all-time high sounded like it would not be a picnic for a human being, or anything else for that matter. More oxygen meant bigger bugs, was what she was told. All of the insects in the room were rescued by Nigel some time ago when their forest caught on fire during a lightning storm. With the spike in oxygen, the entire place practically caught on fire even though it was a swamp.

The other thing that Beth found a little awkward for her was the broken English this Twitch was using. Kevin explained that since they did not have proper mouths and speech was unknown to them, they could only communicate with vocalizations only insects could do. It was only recently that they picked up on speech after being around humans for a while. The only thing was they could only speak to the best of their ability.

As the keepers were conversing, they had the privilege, or in Beth's perspective, an unlucky encounter, with the other two insects. Beth was put off by the large scorpion that hopped onto one of the fallen logs and nearly ran out of the room when the giant millipede skittered right behind her. Again, the tour guides had to reassure her that there was nothing to be afraid of. Ben the _Arthropleura_ was a vegetarian despite his appearance. Scorpio the _Pulmonoscorpius_ and Twitch were the only carnivores, but according to the keepers and Sabrina, they only ate smaller insects, lizards, and amphibians.

Juniper and her children were fine with that bit of information, but Beth was not so. Sure, she was in no danger, but she never liked bugs. At least she could rest easy knowing that the insects were harmless.

The one thing that did surprise her was how her daughter got involved with them. Like Irwin, she would spend time with these bugs by playing or telling them stories. Ben told her that when she broke her arm one time, he was concerned for her safety. Scorpio seemed a little uptight, but she had a respect for Hazel. As for Twitch, he was going back and forth on wanting to see the outside world with Hazel and her friends that he kept flying around in circles, almost making no sense in his wording.

Again with her daughter touching their hearts…did she do this to all of the Residents? She was able to stand the fumes in this building just to be with these insects?

The group soon left the building to go on their next destination; the two keepers decided to remain behind as they needed to check on the oxygen generators. Plio joined them as soon as they went through the doors; her coat keeping her nice and warm.

As they walked on, they met up with a few wandering denizens of the park. The _Microraptors_ that always glided around on their news delivery were doing their last few laps before retiring to their indoor aviary. Beth was startled by them, but calmed when she learned they only ate small insects, bits of meat, and the occasional peanuts as a treat. They also ran into two of the large sauropods that roamed around looking for food; Charles the _Diplodocus_ and Yin the _Borealosaurus_ , both of which were the leaders of their own factions. They were amiable, especially Charles. And like with Woodstock, the children took a liking to the both of them instantly.

Afterwards, they ran into the wooly mammoth again, whom Beth learned was named Martha. Walking alongside her was an elephant calf named Mikiya. As expected, the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ were very inquisitive of the pachyderms as they had never seen their like before. The girls asked so many questions and even became fast friends with the young calf. Martha had to tell the tour group that Mikiya had snuck into the park while the supplies were being moved and was now here with everyone for the duration of their stay in the Late Cretaceous. Her mother was definitely going to be worried; Hazel was working on informing Nigel of the situation when they left her.

Beth was frightened when she met Martha the first time, but now that she had the Communicator, she saw her as respectable. She seemed motherly in her own way, and the mammoth had her own benign words to say about her eldest daughter.

Soon after meeting them, the group ran into a _Stegosaurus_ couple. Per Sabrina, they were named Tsuki and Conan, a couple which was recently rescued by Hazel and a few new recruits around the same time they rescued a pack of _Dilophosaurus_. They were about to get eaten by that very same pack and get roasted by a forest fire when Hazel and her team saved them. Both spiky herbivores were very grateful of Hazel's intervention.

While the women conversed about the adventure, Sabrina inquired Conan about the whereabouts of the _Dilophosaurus_. From what Beth heard, they had not seen them the whole day as they were out hunting.

With the new destination in mind, the tour group went on their way, leaving the _Stegosaurus_ couple to their business, whatever it may be. It was not long before they came across one of the individuals that they were planned to meet. And it was one that Beth was not too enthusiastic about either.

She screamed in terror and hid behind Juniper as the giant 10 foot flightless bird ran up to them.

"Agh! It's that giant bird! Juniper, protect me!"

The flustered ceratopsian got on the defensive. She too saw the danger coming and told her daughters to get behind her as well. In her eyes, she was seeing a giant raptor with an oversized muzzle that could run any of them down.

Both the lemur and Saber chuckled at the sight. The Terror Bird stopped before them, confused as to why they were acting all apprehensive, but soon took on a brighter tone.

He gasped and smiled when the yellow and black avian noticed a particular human hiding from him. "Hazelnut's mama! There you are! I was wondering where you were. You missed out on the chips and salsa I made. The food was going bad...so I kind of ate it all. Don't worry! I can make more!"

Beth just ducked her head behind her armored companion's girth. Juniper, on the other hand, just looked back to sate the inquisitive feelings she got from this uncouth, yet childish, bird.

"Beth, you know this guy?"

"I um…encountered him before," was all she said.

The brown huntress with them just stepped up to the frightened group and calmed them. "Relax you two, Espantos means no harm. He's the park's courier and one of the main ways we hear about what's going on around the place. He may be a carnivore, but he would not dare eat any of his friends. But I'm sure Hazel or someone else mentioned a thing or two about him."

Hazel's mother peeked from her hiding place. "That…would be an understatement," she gulped.

The huge bird then looked over at the giant feline and the lemur that hopped right next to her. He waved at them with one of his huge feet rather than using the miniscule wings he had. "Hi Sabra! Hi Queen Please-O!"

The brown and white lemur held her giggling and politely responded to him, despite her name being mispronounced for the hundredth time. "Espantos. Always a pleasure to see you."

On the other hand, Sabrina just growled at him, but kept her composure. The avian showed no sign of intimidation from the threat he got. "It's Sabrina, you dimwit."

"I thought you were with 'Cece' and the little kitties for another shopping trip. You taking a break?" he asked the predator, mispronouncing her mate's name as well.

The peeved Sabrina rolled her eyes and responded through her gritted teeth. "You could say that, yes."

The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ adult narrowed her eyes at the avian and just remembered something. "Wait, come to think of it, I have seen him before. He was running around the herd when we arrived here."

"He looks weird, like a really tall, big mouthed cousin of Alex," commented curious Ivy, who was slowly coming out from behind her mother.

"Where are his wings? He can't fly?" went her sister Aster.

Espantos smiled and lowered his head at each of the younglings that came up to him. He cooed at each of them; he rubbed his beak against a surprised Maggie as a show of affection. "Daw...children! Children are so cute! What're your names? You look like the pale lady here. Is she your leader? Are you her underlings?"

The eldest of the children corrected him with a clear of her throat. "Um no. That's Juniper, she's our mom. I'm Maggie and these are my sisters; Aster, Ivy, Jasmine, and Lilac."

When she was done, the bird was approached by Sabrina, who was now pointing a claw at him. The huntress glared at the seemingly childish bird. "Did you get all of that?"

"Sure did, Sabra!"

"Okay…now repeat all of their names."

Espantos took in a deep breath and repeated every single one of their names while gesturing to each of them with his talons. "Well...there's June-bug, the leader of her band of Tire-check's distant cousins, Magpie, Ash Ketchum, Poison Ivy, Jazz Band, and Lie-rack."

He finished with an over-expressive grin. However, the same could not be said about those around him. Sabrina face palmed and sighed at the idiocy of this Miocene hypercarnivore. Plio was barely holding in her giggling. The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ family had a range of different expressions; from Aster and Ivy snickering at how crazy he was sounding, to Jasmine, Maggie, and Lilac being outright pissed at his simple-mindedness on how he pronounced their names. The eldest of the group had to step in front of her two younger sisters to prevent them from ramming their heads against his legs. Juniper just stood there, stunned and speechless. Which left one unaccounted for…

"Oh, and Beth, the Hazelnut's mama."

Now everyone just gawked. Out of all the incorrectly said names, he said the human's correctly. Nobody said a word as they tried to process this turn of events. Even Beth was stunned, not just by how correctly he said her name, but how childish he was, despite being a carnivore. Also, Hazelnut? He meant her daughter, Hazel, obviously. But how he could incorrectly say her name after the number of years he knew her was just baffling.

The Terror Bird turned his head at the feline that was slowly losing her patience. "Did I get that right?"

Sabrina said nothing, but his answer came from a now-composed Plio. "Um…almost?"

The Saber just face-palmed. Espantos leaped for joy at his result.

"Yay! Now we're all acquainted with each other."

"How come he said our entire names wrong but said hers right?" an irate Jasmine complained, also regarding Beth. "This is an outrage!"

"Yeah! I demand a redo!" seconded an annoyed Lilac.

Their mother shushed her daughters, causing them to back off. She gave him an apologetic look, but he still appeared clueless on what just happened. "So Sabrina," she gazed at the Saber that perked up at the sound of her name. "You know this guy?"

"'Know him' would not cover the whole thing. Everyone in the park does," she answered dryly.

"Ooh! Are you introducing me? Let me do it!" volunteered the ecstatic avian. "I'm Espantos! I'm what's known as a _Phorusrhacos_ , otherwise known as a Terror Bird. I'm from the Miocene period, just like Sabra, her buddy Cece, and the two little kitties that follow them. All of us are from the plains of South America. My kind and I used to be the top predators there, but Sabra's folks decided to come in after-."

"ESPANTOS!"

He silenced himself from the outburst that came from the big cat. The other women around her just took a step away from the irate feline.

"Thank you for your introduction," she kindly told him in between breaths. "But I need to ask you a few things. Have you seen the new crested hunters that arrived at the park not too long ago?"

"Oh them? They went out shopping."

"Shopping?" inquired Beth, who was now slowly coming up from behind Juniper, albeit hesitantly.

"He means hunting," Plio told her before returning her attention to him. "When will they be back?"

The Terror Bird just shrugged with his miniscule wings. "I don't know. They never told me. Raspy is still shopping though, but he should be back tonight."

"What about Terrence and Matilda? Are they back?" went his Miocene natural rival.

"Oh yes. I just passed by them before I ran into you. They're resting from their shopping trip."

She nodded. "I see…" Sabrina leaned a bit too closely to Espantos and began to whisper at him. He did not find this sort of thing awkward, thankfully. "And the park's giant, demon nutcase?"

"Devil-oh?" he whispered back. "He's out shopping too. I'm not sure when he's coming back."

"Much obliged," she whispered her thanks before retreating and resuming her normal tone for all to hear. "Well Espantos, it was nice catching up with you, but we should get going. We've got a few more residents to see before the day is done."

With that said, the group said their hesitant and uneasy farewells while hurriedly keeping up with the Saber and the lemur. The Terror Bird exchanged his farewells before retreating off to another part of the park. All Beth just did was wave at him and watch him go. Despite being frightening, he was actually...pretty okay. Not to mention the communicator she had on deciphered his language. Her daughter was right; he is quirky in his own way, almost childish too. She regretted almost having Hanna shoot him. But deep down, she still feared the giant bird; he did show his feral side two days ago. Among the carnivores she encountered, he was a special case. Perhaps everyone here had another side to them; a kinder, gentler side. The other carnivores they met were like this.

She hoped that the next ones they were going to meet were like him too.


	19. Maternal Bonds

**_Hey everybody! A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all! Or to those who don't celebrate Christmas, Happy Holidays! Sorry about the late reply. Some of us were in places where wifi wasn't the best :/. The holidays for us were quite an adventure. Inspiration for future writings came to us like a herd of rhinos :P. Anyway, here's the next chapter in the DaPPA: LNoW story, written by Marc Ello-Re Yes. Happy Reading!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: We don't own Disney's Dinosaur, Prehistoric Park, Dinosaur Revolution, Walking with Dinosaurs BBC, Walking with Dinosaurs 2013, and March of the Dinosaurs. We also do not own any of the music involved. All of these belong to their respective creators. We only own the characters we made._**

The group continued their trek through the park, stopping on occasion when either Beth or Juniper's family had a question about a particular sight. Sabrina and Plio attempted to answer them as best as they could, but because they were prehistoric Residents of Prehistoric Park, they missed some context to some of the human related areas and structures. Regardless, the group made great time as they continued their journey. As they traveled, Juniper and Beth seemed to have gotten more comfortable with the foreign setting; more so the human of the group than the ceratopsian. The elder Veran enjoyed the company of Plio, Juniper, heck even Sabrina.

' _Perhaps I've misjudged this place…_ ' Beth mused.

At the moment, Beth was bidding the bizarre, yet kind _Yi_ _Qi_ (whatever those were) leader, Wynndi, and the peppy _Microraptor_ Breezy, farewell. The two of them were doing a quick trek around the park for some exercise, but due to the cold, their trip had to be cut short and were forced to head back to their warm enclosure. The bat-winged dinosaurs were very polite and well-spoken when compared to the cheery and youthful-sounding four-winged dinosaur's troupe. As the tiny theropods glided away, Beth felt a bit better about their surroundings, but those good feelings were put to an end very quickly.

As the tour group neared a border of Temporary Park, numerous park employees rushed out and aimed their strange rifles into the treeline. Sabrina halted the group as she took a curious sniff of the air, only to pin her ears back in agitation and viciously snarl in the direction everyone else pointed their rifles. Beth and Juniper could practically feel the tension in the air, and was immediately put on edge. Their caution became justified when they saw what emerged from the forest.

Striding in, in all his glory, was the massive crimson shape of Prehistoric Park's infamous Resident; one that was new to Juniper, but intimately familiar for Beth. The obvious predator's immenseness was tempered thanks in part to the large escort group that traveled with him and similarly had their weapons at the ready. However, the horned carnivore paid no attention to the multiple guns practically pointed in his face. His eyes casually swept over the miniscule humans before his roving gaze stopped on Sabrina and Plio's tour group, more specifically, the lone human woman shirking back in fear. With a toothy grin, the _Carnotaurus_ broke off from his armed escort, completely disregarding the shouts of the Keepers, and approached the little tour group.

Juniper lowered her head in caution, making sure her daughters were safely underneath her torso; her children shivering in fear from the massive foreign carnivore. Plio was on edge and was wound tighter than a spring at the moment. Beth was about two seconds away from fainting on the spot. Sabrina, despite the vast difference of power between the two predators, skillfully masked her worries behind her usual guise of female superiority.

"Well, well," Diablo rumbled. "What do we have here?"

The devilish carnivore sniffed the air around Beth before exhaling, his breath washing over the group. The lone human of the group had to suppress the urge to gag. It smelled worse than a public landfill filled with rotting meat! His piercing gaze pinned Beth where she stood as she tried to regain what little confidence she had. The looming predator took a step in her direction, interest filling his features.

"You must be the Veran whelp's mother; Beth was it?" Diablo asked rhetorically. With an intimidating smirk, the _Carnotaurus_ trudged off, but not before calling over his shoulder to the human of the group. "I'll be seeing you around, _Beth_ …"

The way he said her name sent a shiver of dread down her spine.

Sabrina and Plio urged the group to continue, eager to put some distance between them and Diablo. Beth learned from Sabrina that the crimson carnivore did not have the best relationship with her daughter Hazel, and that even though they warmed up to each other, Diablo just _barely_ tolerated the young "nuisance" at best. Even after learning that Diablo had no intention of causing trouble, the wary mothers Beth and Juniper had doubts. These thoughts were only compounded when Sabrina suggested hanging onto those doubts when dealing with the Park's aggressive Carnotaur. Although Beth was giving this otherworldly sanctuary a chance, she would rather not have any dealings with Diablo anytime soon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the group continued their way through Temporary Park, three new mammals recently returned from their excursion in the forest. At this moment, Beth had to resist the urge to coo at the little Saber Toothed Cubs. While her old self from before discovering Prehistoric Park would abhor them slightly for being out of their cages and be nervous about them possibly attacking her, the Veran mother quickly warmed up to them after seeing their adorable forms. The cubs were so fluffy and cute when compared to the mature Sabrina, or the burly looking male that followed in the wake of the two cubs. The cubs looked weary, but had the same child-like energy that Beth often saw in young children that looked proud of accomplishing something. The big male Sabertooth would have been more intimidating, if it was not for the toy mouse dangling from his maw.

"Hi Miss Sabrina. Hi Miss Plio." One of the little cubs, a male if his voice was anything to go off of, greeted with a slight yawn. The other Saber Cub just nodded tiredly. Beth noticed that Sabrina seemed tense up for a moment before she regained her usual expression on her face.

"Tai, Sable," the female _Smilodon_ smoothly greeted the younger felines. "You don't seem to be your upbeat selves today."

"That's probably my fault," the burly male chuckled. Juniper and her family shifted a little out of seeing the male Saber, but if he was offended, the _Smilodon_ didn't show any evidence. The toy mouse he carried dropped on the ground with a squeak. "I've been training them on pouncing and I had them work on one of their toys. You should have seen them. They can jump pretty high."

"I see." Sabrina replied aloofly.

"We improved on our jumping skills." the female cub, Sable if Beth had to guess, cheered. "I tackled Tai when he wasn't looking either!"

Sable was much happier in contrast to before on their first hunt. Truth be told, today was fun for the cubs.

Tai merely scowled. "Hey! And I kicked you off just for doing that!"

"Nyeh nyeh! And you didn't do any payback for it," the mischievous cub stuck her tongue at her brother.

"That's because you kept running away from me!"

"Alright, enough!" the elder huntress interrupted, slightly roaring. The cubs and the rest of the group were surprised at the sudden volume. "It doesn't matter who is better or not. The point is you both have improved on your hunting prowess, even though it is a small improvement. Keep it up and you two might be just as good as...the two of us."

Beth noticed the slight stutter of the usually confident Saber Cat. And while she was surprised at Sabrina's rough handling of the cubs, the human woman stayed out of the conversation. All while this happened, Tai and Sable looked disappointed as they retreated back to Cesár's side, who had enough sense about him than to be the target of his mate's ire when she was in a mood. Being a mother herself, Beth was a bit skeptical about how this was going. Sabrina and Cesar were the only adult Sabers in the park, so why would they treat their children this way?

Said huntress cleared her throat and introduced everyone in the group, who politely return the gesture. Afterwards, the small family left so that they could rest up in their enclosure. The rest of the tour group ventured forth, Plio and Juniper's family in the lead, the lemur answering the _Pachyrhinosaurus'_ questions as best as she could. Meanwhile, Beth approached Sabrina, though in the back of her mind, she felt like this may have been a stupid move.

"Weren't you a little harsh?" the woman tentatively asked.

Sabrina, who seemed to be caught off guard, cocked her head. "What?"

Beth gestured in the direction of the retreating twins. "To those children. They were just trying to show how much they improved. I think they were trying to be like you and Cesár."

The Saber Cat remained resolute in her stance. "If they want to be like me and Cesár, then they have a long way to go. They are cubs. If they did well today, then it is just beginner's luck. If they were in the real world, they would fail. They thought of their training today as a game. Out here, nothing is a game. It's kill or be killed, and they need to know that."

Beth could sense that something was up with Sabrina with how wistful and reserved she was sounding. Her voice had a bit of longing to it. Despite the situation, the woman took a few minute steps closer to the _Smilodon_ , internally debating whether or not to place her hand on the feline's shoulder.

Deciding against it, Beth chose to speak up instead. "Is there something wrong?"

The _Smilodon_ cocked her head. "Pardon?"

"Between you and those cubs." Beth continued. "Is there something wrong that you'd like to discuss?"

Sabrina huffs. "I don't know what you're talking about. The only thing wrong is they need to learn how to survive and fast. Only survival will toughen them up."

Beth narrowed her eyes at that. That last one sounded offensive, even though it was not directly at her.

"Be careful of what you preach, Sabrina," the woman lightly warned. "You are being a little harsh to them, don't you think? You are their mother after all."

Sabrina eyes her as if she were offended. She then snorted and walked a little faster ahead of her. As she passed Beth, a snarl escaped the _Smilodon's_ throat and her teeth were bared, putting the human on guard.

"I'm _not_ their mother," Sabrina lowly snarled.

The group pushed onward, but Beth was a bit on edge now around the huntress. Seeing the small confrontation, Plio just reassured her with a small nod.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

T. rex enclosure...

As the group went to the upcoming enclosure, they passed some employees that were off to cut some trees to prepare some logs. They also encountered Bruno and his Tribe, as they were coming. He was nice to Beth, a bit surprising considering the gruffness he exuded, but his Hulk-speak (as she dubbed it) was a bit jarring. She was a bit frightened by his claws though. Sabrina briefly introduced them to the group and they took that in stride, at least, as best as they could. Xyráfi and Akonízo were quite nice to them, being mild-mannered and kinder than their male counterparts.

They also passed some Valley Herd members that were assisting some other employees with their various tasks. A group of other _Pachyrhinosaurus_ and _Styracosaurus_ were assisting with bringing cartfuls of sharpened wooden spikes to the walls around the main hub of the park. Beth was still stunned to see people and dinosaurs working together. And here she thought they were all dumb beasts.

No, they were intelligent and they had feelings.

While they were on the way, Beth had the courage to ask Juniper more about her herd as well as more information on what happened the other day. Juniper told her of the hardships they went through recently. That they were being chased by Tyrannosaurs for many days, even chased out of their own home, all while losing much of their number. Beth could not help but feel sorry for her. Now they were here, sharing this valley with carnivores that could turn on them. Yet, this tour was showing them how kind and protective they could be. She could see that Juniper was beginning to soften up around these carnivores.

They finally arrived at the next enclosure. Most of the trees and shrubs were fake and purely aesthetic. It contrasted greatly with the native plant life, which was starting to wilt and brown from the encroaching cold. Rocks dotted the enclosure to further decorate the area, and in the back was a large pond with pond plant decorations. The only unnatural thing in the area was a large white tent that Beth deduced was a way for the Residents who lived here escape the cold. Other than that, the enclosure was pretty basic, which could be said about the enclosures in Beth's opinion, probably because they were not meant to be permanent structures.

They went through the open gates into the enclosure. When were inside the enclosure, they came up to the white tent where the Residents resided.

Hearing that they had guests, the Residents of the enclosure trudged out of their plastic den to greet them.

The Pachy girls yelped and screamed as they hid behind their mother. Juniper growled and gets into a defensive stance. Coming out of the white tent were two greyish-green _Tyrannosaurus rexes_.

"What the—!? Girls stay behind me! Beth, you too!" Juniper barked. The aggressiveness of the ceratopsian mother caught everyone off guard, including the Rex Twins. Juniper continued her aggressive tirade. "Here I thought this place was safe. I guess what everyone was saying about this place being safe was a lie!"

Attempting to nip further hostility in the bud, Sabrina got in front of her quickly.

"Juniper, stand down," the Saber Cat firmly ordered. "Terrence and Matilda won't hurt you."

Juniper shook her head aggravatingly. "But they're a couple of those predators that have been attacking our herd!"

The Twins got really confused at that.

"Uh, sorry what?" Terrence intelligible said. "I don't remember attacking a herd."

Matilda grunted, a little peeved at being accused from this random dinosaur. "Lady, we don't remember meeting you or your herd. We're from Prehistoric Park. If either of us went against a herd of horn-heads like you, I think we'd remember it."

"The Twins are right. They're from our home in the future," Plio interrupted. "While your family was being attacked by creatures like them, they had nothing to do with those attacks as they were not present for them. Just take a step back and consider that."

Juniper's fast, heavy breaths slowed down. As she calmed herself, she assumed her normal stance.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you," Juniper apologized. "It's just as soon as I saw you two, I thought we were being attacked again."

Although a little annoyed about being accused, the female T. rex was quick to let go of her anger and introduced herself. "It's okay. I'm Matilda, and this is my brother, Terrence. We heard what happened to you and your herd. We're sorry about what happened. "

Juniper was surprised at them being apologetic.

"You...you are?"

Terrence nodded before he spoke up. "Yeah. Listen, my sister and I were orphaned at a young age. Nigel found us right after our mom died and took us to Prehistoric Park. He and the rest of the humans raised us since we were little."

Matilda continued off from her brother. "The two of us did squabble a lot, even got separated for our own good. But we made up for it. We saved the park once too."

"Again, they are right," Sabrina confirmed with a nod.

Seeing the new faces, Terrence and Matilda were more interested in the human newcomer. The young king nudged his sister towards the woman.

"Hey sis, check out who's here!" The brother cheered.

Matilda trudged forward a bit to get a better look at the new human. "You're Hazel's mom, right?"

Despite of today's events, Beth was a bit nervous of the two carnivores. Sure, she could excuse the unfamiliar predators, but the two before her were _TYRANNOSAURUS REXES_! Even to someone as uninformed as her, Beth knows that the species before her were infamous for being one of the deadliest carnivores of all time.

So with a large amount of apprehension, Beth found her voice. "Oh, you two know about me…?"

"Heck yeah we do! I saw you the other day." Terrence started. If he was offended by Beth's standoff-ish attitude, the Rex didn't pay it any mind. "Sorry about Diablo scaring you. Al, Alyssa, and I were trying to keep him under control. I'm glad he didn't hurt you."

Now Beth was truly surprised at the turn of events and that this large predator seemed genuinely concerned. "Oh...uh...yes, otherwise we wouldn't be talking right now."

"I take it you're having a tour of this place. How do you like it? Besides the cold, of course." Terrence casually asked.

"Um...well it's different?" The woman started, getting into grips that she was shooting the breeze with a Cretaceous carnivore. "I've never been in a place where humans, dinosaurs, and huge prehistoric mammals, bugs, and birds lived together."

Matilda chuckled in agreement. "I bet. Hey, I know you're still nervous about us carnivores, but you've got nothing to worry about. We wouldn't hurt anyone here."

"Unless we don't like them..." Terrence says under his breath.

His sister didn't like his vaguely threatening comment and proceeded to give his neck a quick nip, making him yelp. He quieted down when Matilda gave him a scolding look. She turned back to the group with a bit of a chuckle.

"Sorry about that. My brother is a bit of a goof," she said with a bit of a growl directed at her brother, who was wisely behaving.

While the twins were imposing, Beth brushed that off easily. They honestly reminded her of when Hazel and Hanna bickered when they were younger, further making her relate to them.

"So you two know my daughter, Hazel?" Beth interrupted the sibling Rexes.

Terrence sputtered and laughed, "Her? Heck yeah we know her!"

Matilda lowered her head so that she was closer to the human woman. "Listen, my brother and I fought a couple of times in the past, but it was she that brought us back together." She then gained a thoughtful look on her face. "She scolded us a lot too though. It was horrible..."

Feeling a bit braver, Maggie came out from behind her mother, curious.

"Wait, why were the two of you fighting?" Maggie innocently asked.

Plio chuckled and chose to intervene. "Oh, just the childish squabbles; not sharing food, fighting for space, seeing who was better. The usual. I bet you and your siblings went through the same sort of thing."

The little _Pachyrhinosaurus_ sheepishly giggled. "Heh, yeah. My brother would sometimes get on our nerves, like getting the last leaves on a branch, snuggling up to Mom first, or trying to get us to practice fighting him."

Terrence snorted, "Yeah, except our fights were pretty over the top. Matilda's bites were so hard that I ended up in the infirmary like once or twice."

Maggie gasps, "Wait, you did?"

"Infirmary?" Maggie's sister Ivy asked, confused as to what that was.

Matilda answered the younglings' questions. "Oh yes. But Hazel was the one that fixed up our relationship. She got the idea one time to put us in the same enclosure, with a dividing wall so we wouldn't get at each other's throats. We didn't like living in the same space, but she was teaching us how to get along. Not to mention she emphasized the importance of family."

As the Rex sister was explaining this, Beth listened to her very intently. At the mention of her daughter being as intertwined in these dinosaurs' lives, the mother of two wanted to hear of how Hazel changed their lives.

"Terrence and I were always at each other's throats back then," Matilda continued. "But it was Hazel that reminded us how important we were to each other. Figuratively speaking, back at home, we're the last living rexes in existence. All we've got is each other." She then glanced over to the small lemur perched on Juniper. "Plio also reminded us of what family really meant. Actually, if it weren't for her explanation, we wouldn't be where we are now."

"Yeah Hazel grounded us, but we learned our lesson. Now we're inseparable." Terrence bumped Matilda in the rump with his hip.

"Don't do that again," his sister growled in annoyance.

"Sorry…" Terrence muttered, sobering up immediately.

Beth contemplated what she had heard. If Hazel said all of that to the rexes, then why had she not made up things with her at all? She must have been really broken up when she told them all that. She must have given up hope with her own mother. Yet, then again, they did make up for time lost...but only for a little while. All of that fell away when she discovered her daughter's secret.

However, from what she was being told about her daughter, she did so many good things for the Residents here. She looked out for them, and they did the same for her. They were grateful for Hazel for being there for them, and some of them were carnivores.

Hearing about all of her daughter's good deeds filled her with a flurry of emotions. Pride was in the forefront of her mind, thanks to how accomplished her daughter was. However, in a dark corner of her mind, she could only feel regret as her heart sunk the more she thought of how far Hazel had come… without her.

With a shaky breath, Beth backed up and away from the group, all of its members curiously looking at her at her abrupt movement.

"E-Excuse me. I...I need some space."

She turned around and walked out of the enclosure. Juniper and her daughters looked at each other in confusion. The Twins had no idea what's going on, and assumed that their presence had somehow offended Beth, which caused the Rex siblings to silently bicker amongst themselves and try to place the blame on the other. While the ceratopsian family and the Twins were curious at their human friend's sudden departure, Sabrina and Plio silently shared a look, having an inkling of what Beth was thinking.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Beth wandered aimlessly throughout the park, lost in her thoughts. She honestly had no idea where she was, but at the moment, she couldn't have cared less. Not even the encroaching darkness of the lengthening winter twilight bothered her; with winter approaching, the nights were gradually becoming longer and the days were growing shorter. The chill in the air stopped her a few times, causing her to hug herself for some warmth before continuing onward.

She dodged various employees and Residents as they went about their duties, and promptly ignored the rare beings that were concerned for her well-being in favor of her brooding. Eventually, her feet could no longer take the aimless wandering, which forced her to take a break on a green bench that was beside one of the various workshops in the park. She could hear the _Triceratops_ and those blue long-necked bird dinosaurs nearby, but her thoughts kept her mind occupied. Beth was looking down at the ground, her hands folded against her head. Her thoughts on what she had just experienced today consumed her.

She was proud of how her daughters have grown up; grown up into women that can have their heads held high. More specifically, how they accomplished so much in the time they have been on this Earth. But can she honestly say that she _raised_ her daughters to where they are? Beth always had doubts on whether she can ever regain the relationship she had with them when they were younger, but she always forged forward with the belief that she would accomplish her goal. However, hearing how magnificent her eldest became without her mother's help dredged up those constant negative opinions that she thought of herself.

Before Beth could delve deeper into these adverse thoughts, she heard soft hopping sounds coming up to her left. Pulled from her brooding, the Veran mother looked up and saw the little lemur Plio coming up right next to her.

A moment of silence was between them before a chilling breeze whipped at their forms.

Hugging her arms close to her and rubbing the soft sleeves of the miniscule handmade coat, Plio was the first to break the silence. "The wind brings a chill. Mind if I sit with you while I warm up?"

Wordlessly, Beth nodded and allowed Plio to come up to sit with her. The silence once again reigned over the two, Beth deep in her thoughts and Plio patiently waiting for her human companion to speak up.

"I-I just...I can't believe it," Beth nearly whispered to the primate. "I never knew my daughter touched the hearts of...pretty much everyone here."

Plio gave a small smile before replying, "You're not the only one. For one so young, she has a lot of heart."

"I don't know what other misadventures she's gone on, but I just know that all of them were dangerous. She's been going to the past, all by herself, and all without my knowledge." Beth looked over to Plio as she took a shaky breath. "From a mother to a mother, you know what I'm talking about. She's constantly putting herself in danger, making stupid decisions, and possibly saying all the wrong things. I admit I had the wrong idea when I judged the Residents here, but I just want to keep my baby safe. This job, I'm worried that it will kill her. I know she hates me, but I just want to protect her."

The lemur mother could hear the desperation and despair escaping Beth's lips as her words were barely understandable thanks to the sobbing in her tone. After having the woman let out her tears for a moment, Plio sighed and put a hand on the woman's lap.

"I know how you feel. I worry about my children every day."

"Your daughter?" Beth responded as she somewhat gained control over her sobs.

With a nod, Plio continued, "I have a son too. His name is Aladar."

"That name...Hazel mentioned it before, back when she was telling me everything about her secret before we came to this place," Beth recalled, rubbing her nose a bit with her gloved hand to restore some warmth. "All she mentioned about him was meeting him on some migration."

"Aladar is...not like the rest of my family," the primate freely admitted. "He is like Neera, whom you met earlier today. He is an _Iguanodon_."

"So he's a dinosaur?" the distraught mother asked, wanting to find some sort of distraction from what she was currently feeling.

"Yes. Actually, he and Neera are mates, making her my daughter-in-law. They have children too; three girls and two boys. I am technically the children's grandmother, despite the difference in species," Plio said, pride beaming from her face.

Beth wiped away a tear and sniffled. "What does this have to do with my problem or my daughter?"

Plio closed her eyes for a moment before speaking. "Years ago, before any of us came to live in Prehistoric Park, my clan lived on an island. We lived there in peace, away from the dangers of the mainland. Our lives were peaceful; we had no trouble dealing with predators as they could not touch us."

She took a breath and continued. "Then, one day, something fell from the sky onto a branch. I was looking after some of the children for a few other mothers when we heard that crash. My father, my brother, and myself went to investigate while everyone else stayed far from the object. I crept up to it, and found that it was an egg. The baby hatched out of it and I cradled the little thing in my arms. My father wanted to dispose of him, thinking it was one of the predators from the mainland, but I could not allow that to happen."

"So you didn't?" Plio's listener momentarily spoke up.

The lemur grinned, "Oh I had my ways. I 'let him' try to do it. He was about to drop the baby when he looked into his eyes. I can't really say what was going through his mind, but he must have felt the same compassion I had when I looked into his. I took a gamble, but it worked. We decided to raise the baby as one of us."

"You adopted him?" Beth questioned with raised eyebrows.

Plio nodded. "That's right. Years passed, and he grew into a fine adult. He looked after everyone in the clan, from the little ones to the elders. Aladar was kind-hearted and stood up for everyone. He was like our guardian. I could tell you many things that happened us, like the first Fireball and the migration, but that would take at least a whole day."

"Long story short, we met the herd that he now leads; you met a few of its members today," she continued. "Aladar led the herd as a leader should; always looking out for others and placing their concerns before his."

Plio paused and frowned. Beth, seeing the sadness on her face, turned to the lemur with concern. The lemur matriarch continued.

"But being a leader also came with its challenges, both with him and us. When we escaped to Prehistoric Park when the second Fireball came, Aladar was severely injured," Plio shakily said as she wiped away a stray tear. "I thought I was going to lose him that day. My own son, dying from something I could not protect him from. My own son, the one that I raised from an egg, was going to be taken from me. Every day, I waited by the infirmary, outside its barriers, hoping that I would be able to see him again. I was afraid that when I woke up, I was going to be told that his injuries killed him.

Plio sniffled as she powered through her gloomy memory.

"But all was not lost. The humans of Prehistoric Park saved him. They brought him back to his family, back to me. It was a miracle. He was alive. We were all so happy."

She took in a breath before continuing on with the emotional story of her eldest. "But that was not the only hardship he went through. He fought against Nero, who challenged for his leadership. His beliefs was like that of Kron's; he cared more about survival rather than looking out for the weak. Everything that Aladar believed in, he was against. They fought in a battle that decided the fate of the herd...and of the humans of Prehistoric Park. Aladar never gave up because he thought of what life would be like with Nero in charge. We were all in danger, and he would not let that happen. He saved us all by defeating him."

The mother lemur sighed as she leaned back. "I could tell you more things that my son has done, but again, that may take at least a whole day. Aladar may be the leader of his own herd, but as his mother, I still worry. Even during the second migration, before your daughter returned to us, the clan and I remained in the valley. Every day, I thought of him. I worried about what he was going through. I feared that he was going to stumble and fall or he would suffer through an emotional event and I was not there to help him. I was scared on what sort of leader he was going to end up without my help. But I had to trust him because I knew that he can become great on his own.

"It's the same with Hazel," she said with a hopeful smile. "She lived in Prehistoric Park, surrounded by Residents from other time periods, some of which could have killed her without a thought. And yet, she was patient with them, eventually becoming friends with her. She went on many adventures, making new discoveries and encountering many dangers. We could not take your place because you were her mother, but we were part of her family, and she was a part of ours. We all worried about her, but we knew that she could pull through. We knew she could do it, because she had the support of all of us.

"Now she is the leader of this place, and one day, she will be the leader of Prehistoric Park. We know she has the potential. We know she can make it."

Despondently, Beth looked down to the ground as she spoke. "I know where you're coming from, but I'm just worried that my role as her mother is over. I wasn't present in much of her life. She pushed me away when I tried to get her to quit. I just don't know what to do."

Plio put her hand on the woman's leg, giving her a gentle pat. "Beth, being a mother is a lifetime duty. Just because our children grow up, that doesn't mean we should just leave them. Mothers are meant to be supportive, and whenever they need that support, a mother's love will always be there for them. Perhaps the reason why Hazel pushed you away is because you did not trust her," the lemur offered. "You tried to undermine the very thing she strived for. While the things she does in the park or during her trips to the past are dangerous, they are what she trained for. Fate chose her to become the leader of Prehistoric Park, just like fate chose my son to lead the herd. Our children may be grown up, but they still need us. She still needs you, even though she may not show it at times."

"So...what do I do? How do I repair our bond?" Beth asked, practically pled.

Plio took a moment to consider the woman's questions before she answered.

"I can't tell you what to do," the lemur admitted before she continued. "If you want to stay away from her because you believe that your relationship can't be repaired, then you do that. But believe me when I say that it's not too late to fix things with her. She needs you more than ever now that she has this role in her hands."

Beth sniffled and wiped away some tears before smiling. She pat Plio on the head, the lemur enjoying the comforting gesture.

"Thank you, Plio. I needed this," the Veran mother said, spirits raised.

"You're welcome," Plio giggled. "Us mothers need to stick together."

Beth laughs, despite half crying. "I'm sorry. It's just...of all the individuals here in the park, I'm being consoled by a monkey. It's so...surreal."

Plio laughs. The lemur understood that this is all new to her.

"Well I suppose having a 'monkey on your back' can be enlightening," Plio joked.

The two of them laughed and continued to warm each other's hearts by telling each other stories of their children when they were young. Eventually, it got colder and it was nearly pitch dark, except for the lights that lit up parts of the park to guide lost individuals around. Beth returned Plio to the crocodile house to get her out of the cold before returning to her room. Her heart may still be a bit shattered, but at least the burden was a little lighter.


	20. Making Friends

Author's Note: Hey guys. Sorry for the long wait. Here is the next chapter in LNoW. We don't own anything (including music) except for the characters we created. Enjoy!

The days were getting colder and were starting to get really nippy when the winds hit the Residents. However, save for certain Ice Age Residents, the denizens of Cretaceous Alaska only felt mildly bothered. The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ began to warm up to their foreign visitors and were seen even conversing with some of the Residents. However, what everyone noticed was that the sun's daylight was shortening practically every day, further increasing the night. That fact worried the Residents and Keepers since they have never encountered an Alaskan winter. Despite that, they tried to push through this predicament.

In the Herd's new Herd Grounds, many of the prehistoric creatures were either going about their day, keeping warm in groups, or picking at the surrounding's vegetation to get something to eat. This was what a little _Edmontosaurus_ was doing at the moment.

The young hadrosaur bypassed the dwindling green leaves and wilting ferns. With winter coming, it made no sense to him eating something that would be gone in the next few weeks. Instead, the ornithopod nicknamed Scar was poking around a log. He has stuck close to Ilana and Forrest most of the time. They have been the only good things that happened to him in the wake of what happened to his herd. He was searching a rotted log for a meal, using one of the survival tactics he has learned during his first winter he experienced. Then at long last, he found a soggy moss covered log. Although the moss looked appealing, Scar was determined to ignore it for the time being. Tuning his senses, Scar listened and sniffed a certain part of the log before digging and biting at it. He set the bark to the side until he reached his prize: a multitude of fat meaty grubs.

Under normal circumstances, herbivores ate strictly plants and carnivore ate strictly meat. However, Alaska during the winter caused many of the bountiful plants to wither and die. So in order to survive, herbivores of the north were taught to find and consume any food to keep up with their caloric needs. Such foods were moss, scarce plants, rotted bark/wood, and of course grubs and small animals.

Eating flesh always made the _Edmontosaurus_ uncomfortable, but he'd rather have an unsettled stomach than starve to death in the coming days. He had done this for so long in his short life that it became a habit at this point to gorge himself on rotten bark and grubs in order to get used to the taste and put on weight for when the final leaves fall and all of the greenery disappears for the winter until the sun rises again.

As he was choking down the soggy wood pieces and wriggling larvae, he was interrupted.

"Ew! What in the Maker's name are you doing?" A nasally whiney voice broke through the area.

Arching a brow, Scar turned to see a group of four younglings approaching him. There were three different types of dinosaurs in the group. One was a youngling _Pachyrhinosaurus_ (A species he was very familiar with). Another pair was a couple of foreign hadrosaurs who seemed to be siblings. A young light blue hadrosaur that had a weird crest on their head was leading them as they gathered around him to see him eat his meal.

Caught off guard by the relatively large group, Scar composed himself and dug deep to find his self-confidence. Seeing them as younglings like himself, the young Alaskan hadrosaur decides to try to speak up a bit.

"I'm eating… Preparing for winter," the grey ornithopod mumbled, still chewing on the bark and grubs.

"You know herbivores are supposed to eat plants, right?" the male hadrosaur sassed. "Even my little sister, Tira knows better than eat bark, let alone bugs."

"Yeah! And if my dumb brother Tora knows something is dumb, then it's dumb!" The female ornithopod, Tira apparently, snootily admonished. As her brother tried to defend his worth, Scar was a little put off by these foreigners' attitudes.

Nevertheless, he pushed forward despite his initial thoughts.

"There won't be any plants during winter," the young _Edmontosaurus_ neutrally claimed.

"What you're doing is weird," the young _Pachyrhinosaurus_ nasally blared. "You're a freak!"

"Easy Lieuten," the blue _Parasaurolophus_ spoke up again. "You can't expect an uncultured weirdo to be as refined as us."

"Yeah, you're far from the perfect example of 'refined' Riviera!"

A new female voice called out. All heads turned and saw another group of four charging at the group of bullies. Coincidently, this group was also composed of a _Pachyrhinosaurus_ youngling, two foreign hadrosaur siblings, and another female hadrosaur with a crest. The other ceratopsian rammed his head against the bully Pachyrhinosaur's skull, forcing him away from Scar. The other hadrosaur siblings pushed away the other duo. All while this happened, the lime green crested hadrosaur got in front of the arctic ornithopod and blared so loud that it practically rattled Scar's bone; and he was behind the green dinosaur.

The blue crested hadrosaur scowled. "Of course 'Princess Charon' and her flunkies come to rain on our parade."

"Suck on a toadstool Riviera!" Charon fired back. "The way you're acting gives our species a bad name."

The two girls glared at each other, lightning practically sparking between them, before the apparently named Riviera huffed in distain.

"Come on guys. Let Charon add another weirdo to her collection of loser friends."

As the rude group of bullies left the area, Scar merely exhaled through his nose and went back to his scrounging. His lack of response concerned Charon and her friends. Clearing her throat, the youngling _Parasaurolophus_ ambled up to the reclusive _Edmontosaurus_.

"Um, sorry about Rivi. She's kind of a jerk to anyone she's not familiar with."

She was greeted with silence as the grey ornithopod continued his excavations.

"So… My name is Charon if you didn't catch it earlier. And these are my friends: Tirech, Talin, and his little brother Alden."

Each of the younglings gave a nod as she introduced them, but Scar remained silent. The Alaskan dinosaur's muteness was off-putting to the group of friends. They were familiar with silent individuals, but they were usually the older kids or adults. The scarred hadrosaur was acting uncomfortably like an older adult. While Talin, Charon, and Tirech were considering Scar to be a lost cause, Alden strode up to the _Edmontosaurus'_ side with a look of interest.

"What are you doing with those logs and what are wriggly things?"

Silence continued to reign.

"Can we help you out?"

Still nothing.

"You know, I was bullied for being different too. But my friends helped out and accepted me for who I am." If Alden were paying attention, he would have seen Scar's eyes shift to the purple _Iguanodon_ for a second before focusing back to the rotted log. "So… What your name?"

Before the group of friends could assume he would stay silent, a small unfamiliar voice spoke up.

"…Grubs."

"Wait what?" They gawked.

Alden continued. "Your name is ' _Grubs'_?"

Looking up from his work, the _Edmontosaurus'_ grey eyes caught the purple _Iguanodon's_ attention as he shook his head.

"You asked me what I was doing and what these things were," Scar said while he gestured to the growing amount of bark and larvae. "I am currently picking out rotten wood and grubs for the coming cold."

The _Edmontosaurus_ put his front legs on the log's side, and with some pressure, cracked opened up the side of the log and out came a multitude of wriggling grubs squirming on the ground.

"You can join me if you want…" Scar offered.

The four friends blanched at the unexpected and downright disgusting offer. As the three eldest members were trying to find a polite way to turn down the offer, it was surprisingly Alden who took the plunge as he picked up a piece of bark and a grub. Not wanting to be outdone by the youngest of their group, Charon, Tirech, and Talin followed suit and picked a larvae and wood piece.

"What do we do with these now?" Alden asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Scar replied.

He just leaned down and snagged up a fat looking larvae and a piece of bark before swiftly choking it down.

"We eat them."

The younglings were a bit disgusted about the act, but Alden prompted the others to at least try it. They all gathered grubs and rotten wood and chewed; all hiding looks of disgust. The younglings could handle the fibrous bark, but the wriggling, squishy bodies sliding down their throats honestly made them want to hurl. Seeing their tortured expressions, Scar laughs a bit under his breath before he spoke up.

"You should take a few quick bites of the larvae then swallow it as fast as you can," the Alaskan denizen advised. He demonstrated his technique with another grub and bark piece, prompting them to do the same. Even though the kids didn't agree with it, it went down faster than their last attempt.

"That was the worst thing I ever did in my entire life!" Tirech complained, voicing what his group of friends was thinking.

Scar arched a brow. "Yes, but you feel full, don't you?"

Despite the experience, the younglings begrudgingly agreed. Their stomachs were filled more than them eating a multitude of plants; whether they feel the same way as the larvae and wood pass through their systems would be an issue for later. As the younglings lamenting their experience, the young _Edmontosaurus_ mentally debated with himself for a moment before settling on a decision.

"My species value names practically more than life itself," the Alaskan dinosaur informed, getting the younglings' attention again. "We only reveal our names to family or close friends that we trust."

Unperturbed, Alden asked, "Then what can we call you?"

He took a moment before shrugging. "I think the name 'Scar' kind of grew on me."

"Nice to meet you Scar!" The purple _Iguanodon_ greeted. "My friends and I wanted to get more people to explore the area. And since you live here, maybe you can point out some stuff for us."

Scar was about to comment that he didn't technically live in this region, but thought better of it. He nodded and followed after the four strange newcomers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aladar shivered when a cold Alaskan wind slammed his scales. Growing up from a tropical island and living in a valley where it was warm year round, he had never experienced something like this. Some time ago, before this whole move, he asked Hazel and Nigel about what a "winter" was. Their definition was a season where most plants died and the days were cold, at least, that only happened in places far to the north and south of the valley, and in mountains higher than the ones close by. He never thought he would experience one firsthand.

The alpha relaxed when the wind died down, only to shiver again from the cold air. How could anyone survive in a place like this? It was torture! That new herd that came not too long ago was used to this sort of thing. And then there was Martha and Kerato...they were born in this kind of weather. Their fur and thick fat were the reasons why they could withstand such cold. The only thing that kept Aladar alive, besides food and water, were his size and those huge warming tents that were always operational.

Aladar was lucky he wasn't freezing to death. He was warned by Hazel that this Alaska would have something called blizzards often. From what he heard, they were storms that were of ice, snow, and lots of cold wind. With this winter coming, those storms could last for hours or even days. That was something he was not looking forward to. He and everyone else in the park would need to stay in those tents for safety, only to go out for food and water.

But he needed to be strong; for his herd and his family. So as he walked around the perimeter of the park to not only scope out the place for any carnivores nearby (not that there were any thanks to their own carnivores hunting outside the borders), he proceeded to check on his own herd. His heart tugged when he saw them huddling together in groups as they scrounged around for food, especially when he passed a small family of _Struthiomimus_ that were staying close together, yet were shivering terribly. Their slim bodies were made for speed, but they were not made to survive cold spells.

The other herd, persuaded by their alpha female, took pity on their new neighbors and sought to help them by teaching them what to do to survive, something that he and Neera appreciated. Even her brother-in-law, Scowler from what he remembered, was forced to agree with her. If they were going to stay there together, the least they could do was to help the others who were not experienced. Huddling together for warmth, keeping themselves moving to prevent freezing to death, eating moss, and crushing the frozen water on the ground into pieces before getting some into their mouths (even though they were deathly cold) were much needed lifesavers.

Everyone was doing their best to survive. Aladar needed to survive. He could only hope that this stay in Alaska would pass quickly. He longed for the sun's warmth and the smell of fresh grass and flowers. He wanted to sleep under the sky where he could see stars instead of just seeing white cloth. He wanted to be home again. But home was so far away...

"Excuse me, mister?"

Aladar quickly turned at the sound of his name. When he looked down, he came across a small orange _Pachyrhinosaurus_ youngling. Strange...none of the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ in his herd were that color. Not any he could remember anyway.

"Are you Aladar?" the child curiously asked.

Getting out of his confused stupor, the alpha cleared his throat and made himself a bit more presentable for the young boy. "Uh...yeah. I am. Are you lost?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm not lost."

"Oh. Forgive me for asking," he said trying to hide his embarrassment, "but you wouldn't happen to be part of my herd now, would you?"

He hoped he was not. If he were, that would be really bad on Aladar's part. He needed to know everyone in his herd to an extent. It was hard to keep track of who was in your herd and who was not. Back home, it was easy because everyone in the valley was more varied. Now that there were more _Pachyrhinosaurus_...it made things difficult for him to see which of those ceratopsians were part of his herd and who were not. Some of them were different enough for him to tell who was who, and others...not so much.

The boy chuckled; something he hoped was out of an innocent joke and not something insulting. "Nope. I'm not."

"Thank goodness..." he relaxed.

"Oh good," Aladar chuckled. "Sorry, I'm just getting confused with all these new faces that I'm afraid of confusing a member of your herd with being part of mine. I haven't seen your face before, and I lead a pretty huge group. It would be embarrassing if you were part of my herd and I didn't know you."

"Heh, yeah. I guess I can understand that."

"Do you need some help with something? Like finding your parents or finding food?"

"No, but..." the youngling became downtrodden suddenly, "my dad needs help. I'm not sure who else to turn to. There isn't anyone in the herd that can help him. My mom tried to talk to him, then my uncle, and then his best friend. My sisters and I are too scared to talk to him because of the mood he's in. I know he's my dad and he wouldn't hurt us, but I don't think either of us can get through to him. So I've been looking for someone who may be able to talk to him. He's been having a hard time for a while."

Aladar frowned. He could feel this boy's sadness in his words. His father was going through a hard time? And it sounded like it was so bad that he was pushing everyone away. No one should be without their parents, and parents should not be without their children. This was very troubling.

"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that. I understand the trouble you and your herd have been through the past weeks. My friends are doing the best they can to provide support. I wish there was something more we could do."

The ceratopsian child jumped, his face lit up with determination. "There is! If you can help my dad, then maybe things will get better for us!"

"Wait hold on," said the alpha, wanting something else answered. "Why did you come to me? Why not someone else in your herd? If someone is going to help him, shouldn't it be someone your father knows better?"

He explained that quite clearly too. "The rest don't have experience like you do. You're a herd leader too, so you're the best one to talk to my dad. I've seen you do it before when our herds met. You were reaching out to him really good!"

Aladar stared at him, puzzled. So he knew about the fight with the leaders of this child's herd some time ago? Either he was a witness or he heard about it. Why would he be the one to talk to his father? He didn't know him. Unless...

His face lit up in recognition. "Wait...who is your father?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Patchi looked in the distance, watching the new herds go about their daily lives. They were talking, playing, eating, drinking, and sleeping, all without a care in the world. Hadrosaurs, ceratopsians, and bipedal runners just living as if there was not a care in the world.

And yet, behind him, if he turned a curve, it was a different story with his herd...and the neighbors they were forced to stay with.

Days of going through creeping darkness, eating and drinking whatever they could on a hurry, and having little sleep, all from running from terrors that could kill them with teeth and claws, had brought this to them. Now, his herd had to stay in a valley with creatures like them.

Patchi was not pleased. That human, Hazel, assured him that the carnivores in the valley meant no harm to them, yet he was forced to agree. His herd had nowhere else to go. They couldn't survive the winter on the move. That girl did sound convincing, and perhaps she was telling the truth. But he kept his guard up. It was only a matter of time until those monsters turned on them.

He was certainly surprised when he heard from Juniper about her opinions on the carnivores. She and their daughters met with a few. They claimed them to be intimidating, but not dangerous to them. Patchi had no idea what to make of it. His own family was associating with carnivores! They were putting themselves in danger! He tried to stop them from associating with them by telling Juniper. If he told his mate, his children would follow.

But she did not listen. She was defensive about it. "The carnivores were complicated, but not all bad", was what she told him. His mate urged their daughters along to play with the other younglings in the other herd after that. And that was earlier in the day.

The same thing happened with his brother. Scowler was one to hold a grudge. When something ticked him off, he would not stop until things went his way. That was how Patchi knew him. And then Juniper got to him about her opinion. He had his doubts about the carnivores, but then, he came to Patchi and told him of the rexes that lived in the valley. The alpha was appalled when he heard his own brother say that they were quite like-minded to his tastes! He went on a long conversation with those twins on past battles with rival males or other predators and they were listening like children! Scowler did not call them friends, but pseudo-acquaintances.

First his family, and now his brother. It won't be long until the whole herd saw them as friends. These strangers' were getting to everyone. How could these strangers live with those that can kill them without a moment's notice? Don't they see that they're only playing nice around them because they're waiting for the perfect moment to strike? It's obvious!

They were letting their guards down, just like his dead parents and siblings.

Dad...Mom...his brothers and sisters...a flash of light from above and a forest on fire...he shut his eyes to block that memory out. It was his first migration. They were going through a dry forest when lightning struck, creating a wildfire. Alex told him of the dangers of fire; it was fast, could eat practically anything, and burn anything to a cinder. His herd was trying to escape that, but they were then ambushed by predators, who took advantage of the disaster.

His mother tried desperately to protect her children, only to be cornered by two _Gorgosaurus_. And then there was his father, who fought bravely to protect his family. They all died because of them. Only he and Scowler managed to escape...by hiding. They watched their family die right before their eyes.

And now, there were the victims in his herd that suffered through a worse loss...and having to share their only refuge with those that supported these monsters. In Patchi's mind, they were in the calm of a nightmare.

"There must be something interesting going on for you to be staring out like that. Is there something exciting happening beyond this part of the valley, or are you watching out for danger?"

Patchi had little time to react when someone came up from behind. He quickly got to his feet before turning into a defensive stance. When he lowered his frill to aim for a charge, he only saw an herbivore slowly coming up to him. It wasn't a carnivore, but it was someone he wasn't too keen on seeing either.

"What do you want?" he glared at the calm blue-green Iguanodon.

"Nothing," he stopped a few feet from the ceratopsian. "I was just making my rounds and I found you sulking. I figured you'd like some company."

"I didn't ask for any."

"Well today's your lucky day then," Aladar said. He went up to him and took his place next to the armored herbivore. Patchi bristled uncomfortably when he saw him lie on his stomach, gazing out in the distance. The same guy that went into a brawl with him over space in the valley wants to be friendly? This nightmare was certainly taking a twist.

"Huh, looks like there are more locals," he told him while looking out at the grazing herbivores in the distance. "When did they arrive? Are they going to come here? Or I guess not since they're aware that this is pretty much your part of the valley."

The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ alpha male growled threateningly. "If you're just going to admire the scenery, there's a much nicer view further towards that direction."

The other alpha went quiet. A sigh came from him. Patchi glanced over and saw him looking at him with sympathy, something that unnerved him a bit.

"Hey, I know we got off on the wrong foot because of that misunderstanding. I was hoping we could try again?" he asked the guarded Alaskan native.

Patchi glared at him. He shook his head and looked back at the distance, hoping to dissuade this intruder from trying to get too close to him. He hoped that by ignoring everything this guy said, he would get bored and just leave.

At least, that was what he thought.

"Listen, I know what you're going through."

He cocked an eye at him. "Oh do you now?" he said with a snark.

"Yeah, I do," the ornithopod responded with understanding. "I've lost friends in the past. Several of them were from when my first home was destroyed by a Fireball."

"Fireball?" Patchi wanted to laugh at how absurd that term was.

"Well, in a simple way of putting it, it's a huge flaming rock from the sky that destroys everything around it."

Patchi froze. A flaming rock that destroyed everything? There was really such a thing? Then he faced destruction too. He lost his home from something he couldn't control.

Perhaps he was being too hard on this Aladar. If he said he understood his situation, maybe listening to him was the least he could do. Patchi straightened himself, letting his guard down. There was no point in trying to drive him out if he had something to say.

"Then I lost another during my first migration with my herd," Aladar continued with sadness in his tone. "He saved me and my other friends from two carnivores that were trying to kill us...by sacrificing himself. I couldn't save him either. In the end, I knew that he was the one that made that choice. He wanted us to go on."

"I lost a lot of friends, but I had to move forward. If they were still alive, I knew that they would want me to keep moving on. I didn't let the past hold me down, but that didn't mean I could not think about them. There wasn't a day that went by where I didn't think about them, especially the things they taught me; loyalty, compassion, doing what's right, and putting others needs before your own. Even now, I put my herd, and my family, before my own needs. We stick together, making sure nobody gets left behind. And I have my friends to thank for that. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be the same."

The frilled one shut his eyes. It would seem like he and this stranger had something in common in terms of looking out for everyone else. But he was able to move on from the trauma of losing his friends. His loved ones helped him through. This guy did not let his trauma consume him.

But did he lose any herd members? He must have since he is a herd leader himself. As for his friends helping him through this tough time, maybe they could, but would they know what it's like to lead? Juniper and Scowler perhaps, but surely not his children or Alex or anybody else.

"Yeah, but a lot in my herd did. I couldn't save them," Patchi blatantly pointed out.

"Patchi, what happened in the past wasn't your fault," Aladar consoled. "Things happen. It was out of your control. Remaining in the past will only make things worse for you. I understand what you're going through. That's the same fear I have with my herd and my family, but you can't let that fear consume you. It will tear you apart on the inside. The past is the past. What matters now is the present."

Patchi growled, his anger flaring in his eyes as he met the compassionate Iguanodon. "You're asking me to move on from the trauma we all went through. You think it's that easy? How can I when I couldn't save them before? I had a chance to help them, and I couldn't."

Aladar did not answer that. He just stared at him for a moment. Typical, what he said sounded easy to him. Well, it was different for everyone. He can't possibly expect him to get over such grief immediately. How inconsiderate was this guy!?

When he looked away, he said something that startled the angry alpha.

"Your son told me something you should know."

The horned one gasped quietly at the mention of his only son. "Taru?"

"He told me that one of your friends asked him to pass a message to you, back when your herd was crossing that river."

Patchi stared at him, shocked. Someone had told Taru something that was meant for him? And from someone the herd lost back at the river no less! Why didn't Taru tell him earlier? Was it because he was too traumatized to bring it up? Was he too afraid to approach his own father?

He felt really ashamed. He would not let his son get close to him because of how he was acting. What kind of a father was he to do that! And he had something to say too!

"Your son told me his name was Brisken," Aladar told him.

Brisken. Patchi knew him, ever since they were children. He was one of the toughest males in the herd, probably as strong as Scowler. When they were boys, Brisken was a constant sparring partner of Scowler's. They were seen often practicing and hanging out together that they were considered good friends. Not to mention he enjoyed teasing Patchi...a lot. Other than the constant teasing, Patchi did not know him too well, only that he and Scowler were buddies.

When Patchi became leader, Brisken started respecting him. He saw him not just as a superior, but more as an acquaintance.

He knew he was one of the ones that did not make it across the river. Scowler was quite upset about his loss for days. Most likely, he was still upset about it now.

He was shocked when he heard that Brisken left a message to his son and was meant for him.

"Brisken?" Patchi gawked. "What-what did he say to my son?"

Aladar turned to him, his face remaining straight as he relayed the message. "He wanted you to not worry about him and the rest that stayed behind that day. They knew they wouldn't be able to catch up to the herd, so they chose to hold off the predators while everyone else escaped. From what your son told me, your friends made that choice to sacrifice themselves, so the others would have a second chance. The herd needed their leader. So if you went back to try and save him and the others, then they would have given up their lives in vain. You would have died that day."

Something in Patchi took hold of his breath. His mind tried to process what he just heard. So Brisken and the others back then weren't victims deliberately. They chose to stay behind so everyone else could escape. And the others in their Nesting Grounds...those that could fight most likely thought the same thing.

Patchi couldn't save them, but even if he was given the chance to, he may have sacrificed himself in vain. Those carnivores were just too strong for him to take on by himself. He would have died and the herd would be left without one of its leaders. Juniper would lose her mate and his children would lose their father. Alex would be without his best friend and Scowler would lose the only other direct link he had to their dead siblings and parents.

Aladar was right. Those dark hours that happened then were beyond his control. Those that stayed behind to fight did so to protect their families and friends. Yet, as a herd leader, he could not help but grieve for them. And he knew that was something that was going to haunt him still.

"There are things in life that are beyond our own control," Aladar continued to console him. "Whatever things your herd was going through to get to this valley were not your fault. Something drove those predators to come after you, whether it was this land, or their hunger, or both."

The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ frowned. Again, he was right. And what he said about what motivated those carnivores were possibilities.

"If you say so. But they killed countless others in my herd. I can't even fathom the number of families they tore apart, the children they slaughtered. The faces of those children that died in our valley haven't left my mind. I see them still, even when I close my eyes. But I was forced to get the herd out. I needed to save everyone else. I had to."

The _Iguanodon_ pressed on, not letting the oncoming despair overtake the grieving ceratopsian. "Being a leader is both a privilege and a burden. There will be times when a leader will have to make hard decisions that would decide the fate of their herd. They may not be to everyone's best interests, but it's either that or everyone won't make it. It's scary, I won't argue against that. But what matters is everyone's well-being, their happiness, and how you deal with whatever consequences that follows. At least, that's what I believe."

"Those are...helpful sentiments. I appreciate that," Patchi said. He couldn't believe it, but his words were actually helpful. Maybe this guy wasn't so bad after all.

Then, another thought came to him. Something that made him put his guard up once more.

"But there's still one thing that's bothering me," he said with a hint of venom.

Aladar raised a brow at him, unfazed by the indirect accusation. "And that is?"

"If you care about the well-being of your herd, your family and friends, then how come you are living with carnivores? They're the very things that can rip you to shreds, whether you're asleep or awake. Yet you trust them with your lives? You're basically offering yourselves up to them as easy meals!"

Patchi felt the tears coming to his eyes. He blinked them away, trying to shroud his sorrow. The memories of losing his siblings and his parents, and the deaths of those recently, came back to him. They all died from carnivores, those evil creatures that could rip you from the ones you loved. Those things were the ones that can drive anyone out of their home just by causing destruction. They were a pestilence to the earth, and yet this guy thought differently!

The ornithopod sighed. His face took on a more serious approach, but he kept calm towards the defensive alpha. "I care about my herd. I care about my family. But the carnivores here, they're not as bad as you think they are. I've been around this place today. Some of your herd was speaking with a few of them. Now granted there are some who aren't too trustworthy, but they took a vow to not attack us. I've been around them long enough to know they would never go back on their word. It seems backwards, but we have learned to respect them, and they respect us."

The alpha's jaw fell open. Now his herd was associating with the carnivores!? The whole world was turning upside down now!

Patchi scoffed. "Yeah you trust them now, but what if they pull a fast one on you? You'll regret what you said if they do that."

"That may be for you," Aladar pointed out, "but I know they won't. Haven't you noticed the perimeter around this place? There haven't been any other carnivores wandering close by. Our carnivores have been helping with guard duty. They've been protecting us."

"So they can have us to themselves."

"Because they want to protect their friends," the Iguanodon defended sternly. "Look, I know this is hard to accept, but you have to trust us. Just give them a chance."

The _Pachyrhinosaurus'_ eyes narrowed. Aladar may see them as friends, but he couldn't, not after what he and his herd went through. He could sweet talk about them all he liked. Patchi was not going to fall for it.

"I know you mean well," he made his case, "but I can't just trust them after what my herd has been through, not to mention their nature. They may seem nice now, but deep down, they're still the monsters we grew up fearing. Trust them all you like, but I'm not letting my guard down."

Patchi expected a full blown argument. He expected this blue-green stranger with the sharp bones on his paws to get up and start fighting him. He expected them to be getting into a brawl that would decide their fate then and there.

He wasn't expecting him to let this go easily.

Aladar simply shrugged it off. "Alright, if that's how you want to think. But at least show some respect to them."

The alpha stared at him, astonished. "What?"

"If you show them respect," the Valley Herd leader started, "they'll respect you back."

Patchi was ready to rebuke that statement. He could never show them respect. His grudge ran too deep for him. But before he could defend himself, Aladar just continued on.

"Some time ago, I thought I was going to die from an old enemy, but Terrence and Matilda, twins who were displaced from their time and grew up in Prehistoric Park, saved my life. Believe it or not, their kind is similar to the ones that kept attacking you and your herd before at least that was what I could glean from your son's words."

Now there was a surprise. These twins sounded similar to the ones that caused his herd so much trouble in this migration. They were not present for those attacks, but they were like them. And yet, they saved these strangers before.

All his life, Patchi knew to fear carnivores. Now that he heard that there were carnivores that were friendly to herbivores, who saw them as equals no less, it was bizzare to him. It was hard to believe. Either this guy was making it up, or he was just lucky.

"What?" he stammered at the story. "No, that's...you're making that up."

Aladar shook his head, with a laugh as well. "I'm not. Try to deny it all you want, but if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be talking to you now."

The Iguanodon stood up. His eyes fell to the curve behind them, the same curve that led towards their part of the valley. "I'm going to head off and check on my own family. Think about what I just told you. Let go of the past, but don't forget it. I've never experienced this 'winter' before, but something is telling me we all need to rely on each other if we're to survive."

Patchi watched him go. He tried to find the right words to say to prove that his story wasn't true. But they never came.

Then, he saw Aladar stop. His slender neck craned over so he could look back at him. "Oh, and another thing; don't push away your loved ones, no matter how hard things get. They need you just as much as you need them."

The alpha felt those words pierce his heart. That was a cruel reminder to him of what he was doing to his own family. He was right again; everyone needed each other. Why was this guy right all the time?

As he watched him go, something made Patchi get up and follow him. He watched as he made his way back into their part of the valley. Passed a few members of his herd and his potential ally's, he saw him approach a pink and purple female of his own kind. The same one he encountered when their herds met.

Patchi watched them embrace each other with a motion of their necks. Three younglings nearby came to greet the male. They were most likely his children. Joining them was another strange creature he had never seen before; a small, grey thing with big flaps at the side of its head and a long flimsy worm-thing that ran down to its feet from its face. This creature, whatever it was, came up to the alpha and his mate and started talking. The family laughed at whatever it was saying, and the thing laughed as well.

The Alaskan denizen turned away from the happy scene. The words that Aladar told him circled in his mind in an endless loop. What if he was right? What if he was judging these carnivores wrong? And what happened to his herd in the past...he had a point when he said that he was not at fault. Those disasters were beyond his control.

Maybe he was being too hard on everyone, and himself. As he returned his gaze out towards the other part of the valley, where the other herds were, he thought on what he was told today.

Perhaps it was time for him to move on.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hazel was a person that was into new adventures and new things, but there were things she had limits on. She didn't like anyone, whether they were from prehistory or in the present, that acted like jerks towards her. She didn't like broccoli. She didn't like incompetent individuals who couldn't do anything right. And as of now, she is fully against intense cold, especially when you're stuck in a time period where it's cold most of the time. For short periods of time, like in a rescue or a quick visit, it would be okay with her. But having to deal with it for months? Not up to her standards.

With the days getting shorter and colder, things in Temporary Park had been getting a lot more stressful. While the Residents were doing their best on trying to keep warm from the cold temperatures, she had been working to make sure they were as comfortable as possible. Their happiness would ensure her success, but she was not doing a good job with maintaining the integrity of her employees. Hazel had been pushing them to finish the daily duties passed their usual cutoff times. The important ones needed to be done while there was still daylight, but she knew that they would need to get used to working during the night.

While the light blue winter coat with white faux fur did its job of keeping her body warm, her face had become stiff and frozen from being out in the cold for too long. Even her fingers, while hidden under thick winter gloves, were beginning to go numb at the tips. Her ears were covered by white earmuffs, so she did not need to worry about them freezing. Her black winter boots and her thin jeans (with at least two layers inside) did a good job of keeping her legs warm. Hazel may be physically prepared for the cold, but she was not enjoying staying out for too long.

At the moment, she was at one of Temporary Park's storage units. The day was filled with a whole list of chores that needed to be done, all of which she planned on completing before evening's approach. Her plan was to get the staff to quickly transition to working in the evenings to accommodate the change in time. Today just happened to be their last day of working only during the day. Doing this was going to put a huge damper in their schedules, but it was what they needed to do to get things done.

Her job right now was to oversee a group of staff members filling trucks with barrels of hay and extra blankets for the Residents. After directing the staff on how many blankets to collect, how much hay was needed, and how they needed to be organized, she stood to the side to work on her phone. Mainly, she was creating a message for Nigel to send via text.

Hazel knew Nigel would see the message at a later time on his end. It could be days, weeks, or even months. But she needed to update him on the situation. She sent him messages about the whole winter issue, including the fact that they would be there for four months instead of three. Out of respect, even though she was still livid about it, she left Ellis out of the explanation.

Through her touch screen gloves, she typed away the message for her mentor.

 _ **"Hey Nigel. We're pretty busy on our end at the moment, so I'm going to make this brief.**_

 _ **The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer, as expected in Alaska with winter coming. Everyone here is doing their best to cope with the cold temperatures. Those inside the buildings are faring better than everyone else outside. Thankfully, the visiting Alaskan Pachyrhinosaurus herd is lending a hand with teaching the others on how to survive the cold days ahead.**_

 _ **As mentioned before, all of the Residents are now free-roaming, including the carnivores. We had to alleviate the whole "perimeter barrier rule" to save on energy. All of the carnivores, save for Irwin and the bugs, have escorts with them to make sure they wouldn't cause any trouble, mainly Diablo and Rascal. The good news is, there haven't been any serious problems. None of them have gone rogue or anything, though we still worry about Diablo. It's easier said than done on convincing the leader of the Pachyrhinosaurus herd about getting along with the carnivores, but we're trying. As for the rest of the Alaskan herd, they're letting their guard down around the friendly carnivores, which is good for us.**_

 _ **Food is still okay in terms of quantity. We have more than enough food to sustain everyone during the whole stay. However, we still need to be careful on how much is being used each day.**_

 _ **The staff members have already moved into their new rooming assignments. From the complaints I've been getting, the rooms are now a bit tight. Most of the two-person bedrooms are now housing up to four or five people.**_

 _ **I haven't heard much from my mother nor have I seen her too much. The only times I see her would be when I eat my meals in the cafe. From what I've been hearing, she's been spending more time outside than being holed up in her room. I can only hope she's starting to at least get along with everyone else. As for my sister, I set her up on a training schedule with the other department heads, as I told you earlier. I got news from Nero that they were better than how they were the first time he worked with them. Hopefully, they'll be better prepared for the upcoming winter.**_

 _ **The working conditions in the park have worsened due to people not being used to the freezing cold. The work quality isn't that great either as a result. I had to push the employees more and more fiercely the past few days just to get things done.**_

 _ **We predict that this winter will be a very cold one, so I scheduled more expeditions for firewood. Thanks to the trips Bruno's Tribe and some volunteer staff made, we have firewood that would last for up to three weeks. We hope that we'll be able to collect enough to last most of the winter.**_

 _ **The number of Residents catching a cold or a minor fever has increased over the past few days. The hardest ones hit were the younglings because of their growing immune systems. The infirmary has been busy with veterinarians working around the clock...and adult Residents visiting their children. Daisy (only when she was available) and her vet team had been working around the clock to get them back on their feet.**_

 _ **As for Mikiya, she's doing fine. If you haven't told Mujaji yet, please let her know that her daughter is safe and well.**_

 _ **I know the whole time desynchronization will interfere with this message getting to you on time, but I just wanted to let you know we're doing our best on our end. We're hoping that this winter, while it will be tough, won't last long for us. I'll get in touch with you soon on any more updates. This whole leader role is hard, and you did warn me about that. But I am doing my best to live up to your expectations. I wish you, Bob, Suzanne, and Marcus were here though, so that I could have some guidance. I fear that with winter coming, and with everyone's spirits teetering on a thin rope, we'll either make it together or we'll all fall apart. So please, if you can, please respond soon. I need your guidance. I will get in touch with you when I can.**_

 _ **-Hazel"**_

Hazel pressed the send button on her phone. The message text box saying that it was sent appeared on her screen. It was going to take a while to get a reply. She just hoped that Nigel would reply back in the coming days.

She also hoped that he would put the last one on the list on priority, if he had not done it. Mujaji is very protective of her family, and not hearing word about her own daughter would make her go mad. And if she was angry, then the whole herd was. Nigel would not forget though. If anyone was upset in the park, he would not give up until everything was okay. Hazel already sent him a message a while back on Mikiya's whereabouts. He should have already told Mujaji the news.

Doing some quick motions through her screen and apps, she went over to her notepad, which contained the list of things that needed to be done for the day. Right now, she was only on the first job on the list. The last one was just for her.

 **"1. Assist with putting new hay into the enclosures**

 **2\. Go with Ellis and make sure all of the generators are running correctly, including the White Noise Cannons**

 **3\. Monitor the Residents for anything they need or if they aren't feeling well (also help feed them)**

 **4\. Help whoever is on guard duty to make more wooden spikes for the walls**

 **5\. Organize the papers that summarized the status of the park for the past few weeks**

 **6\. Supervise everyone else on their jobs**

 **7\. Schedule a staff meeting on what should be done during the winter**

 **8\. Check with Nero on how the rest of the department heads (and Hanna) are doing in their training**

 **9\. Somehow check on Mom and Hanna on how they are doing in terms of living conditions**

 **10\. Patrol the valley with Flia**

 **11\. Help engineers on fixing the broken jeep in the shed**

 **12\. Have Martha, Kerato, or ask Patchi, Juniper, or Scowler (if I can...) on teaching everyone in the park on how to survive an Alaskan winter**

 **13\. Help put in the prepared mats in the large warming tents**

 **14\. See whatever else needs to be done as you go around**

 **15\. Exercise in the gym (need to revisit martial arts techniques and practice with dagger)"**

Hazel put her phone away. They were only on the first thing on the list and it was already close to mid-day. In just a couple of hours, evening would come. This was not good at all...

She was ready for a break. A quick cup of tea and a bagel with cream cheese would suffice. And maybe a quick session on her ocarina playing a song or two would cheer her up.

 _ ***SNAP!***_

" **HEADS UP!** "

 _ ***CRAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH***_

"Holy shit!" she jolted in horror at the horrid sound. Following that were the clamors of frantic employees who were giving out commands to get the mess tidied.

Hazel hurried over to investigate the damage. She was standing a considerable distance from the workers she was supervising. About thirty workers were rushing around a jeep with a large cart meant for hauling heavy items or numerous supplies. There was a construction crane there with a hook and pulley. However, the cord with the hook was snapped in two; the hook and most of the cord was lying on the concrete in swirls and broken strands. Right next to it were the remains of a wooden carrying platform, cables for securing the items, bundles of hay, and crates with folded fleece blankets.

Her mind at first was overtaken by confusion, but was then replaced by sheer frustration. The truck's platforms were half-filled with crates and hay; not quite enough to satisfy all of the park's freezing Residents.

"What the hell happened!?" she demanded from the rushing employees.

Her command stopped everyone in the storage, who gave her looks of apprehension. One of them, a young man with chocolate brown skin and curly black hair, was brave enough to answer the irate young leader.

"The hauling cable snapped!" he pointed at the crane and the broken pulley. "The extreme cold must have made it brittle!"

The woman scoffed angrily. "Yeah or nobody bothered to check to see if it was best for this job! You're lucky nobody got hurt under there!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am!" he apologized hurriedly while doing his best not to look directly at her. She did not recognize this man; he was probably one of the new employees who came in before this Temporary Park fiasco. "We didn't know!"

"We'll get it fixed!" added another employee in the gathered crowd behind her.

She turned to the startled faces of the group. Her anger flared up with each second that passed. They were still on the first thing on the list and they were nowhere near the goal they had that day. Their incompetence was incredibly upsetting to her.

"You better!" she snapped at them. "Otherwise it'll be your fault if the Residents that need this hay freeze to death! Now get back to work! It's practically mid-afternoon! There's a lot of work to do!"

The workers in the room just stared at her, incredulously. Not once before had she ordered them around like that. She was being pushy recently, but they had never seen her so tense for a simple mistake. Nobody said a word as they were too stunned by the angry outburst she made. As such, nobody made an attempt to get too close to her.

"Give us a break, lady!" cried a worker in the back. "We're freezing our butts off here trying to take care of the animals!"

Hazel's eye twitched at the mention of the last word. She slowly turned to the crowd, trying to pick out the person who said that. Since her first solo adventure, she had not once called the Residents in the park "animals". To her, it basically discriminated their neighbors, de-evolving them into inferiors rather than equals. While there were no Residents around to hear that, she still felt insulted.

If the Residents were insulted, then that affected her as well.

She grit her teeth and protested to the crowd her frustration. "Who said that!?"

Silence was her answer. The employees just looked at each other uneasily. Some of whom just shook their heads, trying to get out of her line of fire.

"You guys better watch your mouths! They are Residents."

"They're still animals!" she caught him somewhere in the back. From what she could make out from the crowd, it was a Caucasian man wearing a thick red winter coat with a fleece lining inside. "What's the difference?"

"There is a difference! They are sentient beings like us! Haven't you forgotten about that? Where were you this whole time? Venus?"

She rubbed her temples with her fingers as she felt a headache coming on. Hazel let out an exasperated sigh before giving them her warning. The stress of the oncoming winter was getting to her and everyone.

"If I hear any of you call the Residents that again, I'll dock your salaries! Now get moving!"

The employees all rushed away, intent on completing the order they were given. Though most of them were giving her looks of discouragement. Whether they knew her for years or for just a few months, neither of them had ever seen Nigel's little protégé act so harshly to them. Most of them were outraged on this new development. To them, she was acting like a foul-tempered child rather than a responsible leader. Others were just too stunned on how to react about this. Hazel never acted like this in Prehistoric Park; in their minds, they thought that since she was all alone without Nigel's supervision, she perceived things the wrong way. Either way, nobody was comfortable with the attitude of their soon-to-be leader.

Hazel felt a sharp pang in her heart, but she ignored it as her anger dominated her sympathy. This was no time to be sympathetic. The day was wearing on and nothing was being done quickly. She hoped they would understand and go passed her frustrations.

She took one last look at the employees who were working to get the crane and supplies fixed before heading out to the Alaskan valley. A cold wind slapped her like a hand on skin. She had to shield her face with an arm before it died down. Remembering the next thing on the list, she made her way to Ellis' workshop to get started.

The employees there were incompetent in getting things done quickly, and she dreaded working with Ellis. He was worse than the lot. Mentally preparing herself for an hour of commands and irritation, she hurried over to the engineer's workshop to meet up with him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, at the Rex Enclosure…

Everything was severely different ever since the humans rescued the prehistoric Residents. They all experienced exotic things, both good and bad, but this latest incident would be deeply ingrained in them for some time. A small mistake, or 'human error', has managed to make them overshoot the original season they were meant to live in, leaving them stranded in an environment that nearly every Resident wasn't accustomed to. Everyone had to make due with living in the chilling era, but it wasn't as terrible as they thought it would be; they were at least still alive.

At this point, everyone was getting ready for night. What worried everyone was that the start of night was coming earlier and earlier as the days passed. And very soon, the sun would set for the final time until winter ended. It was strange to many of the creatures not experienced in living near the Polar Regions.

As many of the Residents and humans were settling in for the night, two teenaged theropods were still wide-awake.

Terrence and Matilda were busy dragging back a cow carcass back to their enclosure. The Twins were among the last ones up, the sole exceptions were some human guards or herd members watching the perimeter, but those were few and far in-between. As the Twins were tearing into the cow, Matilda was taking a second for herself as she observed her surroundings. The various pointed needle trees, the rich smell of ground, the millions of twinkling stars in the sky. Their enclosure was one of the structures at the edge of Temporary Park, giving them relative privacy from the others. It was then Matilda realized something.

Without the humans' supervision, the Twins were free to do whatever they want.

Grinning, Matilda rushed over to her brother's side, who was just starting to munch on the cow carcass, to get him to adventure with her. She nudged the chunk of meat on his mouth, making Terrence drop it on the ground.

The Rex brother yelped in surprise before scowling. "HEY! What gives sis?!"

"Come on bro, we're going to explore the forest." Matilda stated, leaving no room for argument. As his sister was trying to push him to exit their home, Terrence was left flabbergasted.

"Bwah!? Matilda, are you insane?! The Keepers will get mad if they find out we're out of our enclosure after dark. Besides, we haven't finished our dinner yet."

Matilda just rolled her eyes. "It's getting darker every single day. I heard from one of the humans that soon there will only be night for a long time. We might as well explore the dark so we can used to it later. And if you really want to finish eating, just bring it with us, we'll eat it on the go."

It made a certain sense to the male Rex, but he was still on the fence on the idea.

"What if we run into danger?" Terrence honestly asked. The Rex sister rolled her eyes.

"Come on Terrence, you know what the humans said. Our kind is the most dangerous thing to walk the Earth. Everything should be afraid of _us._ "

After a few moments, Terrence sighed as he relented and tore half of the cow carcass for himself.

"As long as it isn't too far," Terrence said, slightly muffled with his dinner in his jaws. "Carry your share, I'm not carrying it for you."

As he lumbered into the forest, Matilda inwardly cheered. She quickly snatched up her meal and followed her brother into the trees.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Twins were amazed at their surroundings. Since they were rescued at a young age, Terrence and Matilda didn't remember their time living in the wild. They often times can recall their caring mother, up until her untimely death, and can barely remember their father. Their late mother said that he died on the day they hatched, so they didn't have too many memories of him. However, despite being born in the Cretaceous, they could hardly call it their home. The towering pine and cedar trees dwarfed the normally massive Tyrannosaurs. The moist soil and rustling of ferns against their feet felt strange when compared to the dusty dirt and gravel of their enclosure in the present; not necessarily bad, just different.

Overall, it was comfortable for the Twins, despite it getting colder each day. They of course kept their bearings about them, recognizing landmarks so they could retrace their steps back to their home. Matilda even intentionally crushed bushes and toppled young or decaying trees to make more recognizable terrain.

The Twins noticed that many smaller animals immediately fled from the area when they walked through the underbrush. They scurried of when they even glanced in their general direction. This inflated their egos a bit, even though the creatures weren't much bigger than the small humans. Terrence and Matilda were enjoying their outing; taking in the foreign sights since they figured this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Right now, the Twins were taking a break next to a few tree stumps to enjoy a few bites of their dinner.

"Okay, I'll admit. This is pretty cool," Terrence said as he watched a group of small rat-like mammals scurry up a tree.

"Told ya!" Matilda sassed. As she was going for another bite of meat, she saw lone rat-mammal inching its way near her meal. "Hey! Get out of here pest! SCRAM!"

With a slight snarl, the mousy mammal squeaked in terror as it ran off. Before Terrence could respond to his sister's actions, the Twins perked up at the sudden sound they heard.

 _ ***GGRRROOOAAANNN!***_

"What the heck was that?" Terrence asked with uncertainty. Snagging up her dinner in her jaws, Matilda got up and walked off in the direction of the noise.

"Come on, let's check it out." The sister Rex said.

The Twins quickly, yet cautiously, made their way toward the constant groaning coming from the distance. After a short trek, the two young Tyrannosaurs walked into a small clearing in the forest. It was a typical glade, but near the center of the clearing was a small _Triceratops_ -like dinosaur. If the Twins had any of the humans with them, they would have known it was an _Anchiceratops_ , a smaller, lightweight Alaskan ceratopsian. Despite it looking smaller, the Twins could tell it was an adult if the coloring and battle worn horns were any indication.

However, the next thing they noticed was that it was incredibly scarred. Jagged, bite and scratch marks trailed up and down its body. A huge nasty scar slashed across one of its eyes, while the other was milky white, indicating its old age. Overall, the creature's scarring looked _very_ recent.

The ceratopsian was limping away as quick as it could, seemingly trying to get away from something. This shocked the Twins since they haven't seen other creatures that weren't their friends with injuries to this extent. Matilda and Terrence curiously wandered up to the injured herbivore in concern; their meal left off to the side.

Matilda was the first to speak up. "Excuse me sir, are you okay?"

As soon as she spoke up, the ceratopsian snarled and made a quick swipe with his horns. Luckily, the Twins were young and agile, while the ceratopsian was old and blinded.

"Whoa! Watch the horns buddy!" Terrence yelped. The herbivore snorted in rage.

"Ya damn monsters ain't gonna take me without a fight!" The male ceratopsian snarled, turning to the general direction of the Twins.

Matilda got over her shock and found her voice again. "We just wanted to see if you needed help. We have friends that can help heal you."

"Yeah, right," the male scoffed. "Just like yer damn 'friend' that did this to me! I ain't falling for yer tricks!"

The ceratopsian bull-rushed the Rex duo, putting the Twins on edge. Before the aggressive herbivore could reach them, a feathered brown and red blur rushed between them—toppling them over—and expertly dodged and locked its jaws behind the ceratopsian's frill directly onto the herbivore's neck. The struggle was violent and the _Anchiceratops_ thrashed and bucked wildly. However as the seconds passed, his efforts weakened until he could barely move. With another swift move, the attacker applied more pressure onto the herbivore's neck and the area echoed with a resounding "CRACK". As soon as the Twins regained their bearings, their eyes went wide. Standing victoriously over the Alaskan herbivore was another _Tyrannosaurus_!

The Rex, clearly female in their eyes, was about the same age as Terrence and Matilda. The stranger was nearly the same as the Twins, with sole exception of the red and brown-feathered coat that covered her back up to the back of her head and parts of her underside. The feathered Rex licked her chops for a moment before crouching over the recent corpse and aggressively glaring at the Twins.

"Okay you two, back off," the female said. Seeing the Twins still awestruck, the female bared her teeth to snarl. "LEAVE! This is my kill! I tracked this sickly _Anchiceratops_ for several miles and wore him down! So this meat is _mine!_ Not yours!"

The Twins wisely backed off. Seeing the Resident Rexes complying with her demands, the feathered female relaxed a small margin as she tore off chunks of the fresh kill; her eyes still cautiously locked onto the foreigners off to the side.

Now that Terrence and Matilda weren't being threated, they took in more of the Alaskan Rex's form. Comparing her to themselves, they noticed that the female was oddly thinner, which probably explained why she was voraciously tearing into her kill with vigor. It morbidly fascinated the siblings, as they watched the female chow down. It also made them slightly self-conscious as they were much bigger in their midsections than the skinny feathered tyrant.

Now that she had something in her stomach, the stranger Tyrannosaur eyed the Twins with suspicion, but with a hint of curiosity. After a few beats, she decided to break the ice.

"Who are you two?" the female began. "I've lived here all my life, and I've never seen Rexes like you," she gave the Twins a once over before her voice gained an uncertain tone. "Especially featherless, _naked_ weirdoes…"

"HEY! What's wrong with being featherless? We're not weirdoes!" Terrence retorted.

"How about _you_ give us your name first," Matilda continued off her brother. "It's the polite thing to do."

The feather Tyrannosaur merely tore off another of meat before swallowing, a content look on her face.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood and have something in my stomach, or else this conversation would have a _really_ different tone to it," the teen Alaskan Rex commented while licking her chops. "Anyways, since you're going to be like that, how about I be the grown up one.

"Name's Aurora," the feathered teen curtly greeted. "Now that I gave my name, who are you two? I've never seen another pair of Rexes this far north before."

Satisfied with her greeting, the Twins relaxed enough to be comfortable around this other _Tyrannosaurus_.

"Hey, I'm Terrence."

"My name's Matilda. Nice to meet you!"

Aurora stared blankly at the Twins' short introduction with confusion.

"' _Terrence and Matilda_ '…" The Alaskan Rex tested the taste of their exotic names slowly. "…Okay… Um, nice to meet you! To be honest, it's refreshing seeing Rexes near my age."

Another once over from Aurora made the Twins slightly uncomfortable. She was practically in their personal space as she circled them a few times, even brushing up against their sides and skirting under their tales a few times.

"You guys are like _really_ meaty, but in a good way!" Aurora commented. "I was lucky in finding that horn face this week. It's like you guys haven't skipped a meal in your lives!

"And besides not having feathers, your hides are practically scar-free! It's like you guys haven't been in a fight in your life," Aurora continued to analyze.

This would have insulted Terrence and Matilda. They have had their fair share of scraps against enemies, so they were confident in their battle prowess. However, compared to Aurora, they might as well be newborn hatchlings. Aurora was covered in scars that decorated her sides that traveled up to her feathered back; the feathers looked a bit ruffled from what was probably the scars interrupting the way the feathers naturally sat in her body. Her legs were scarred from a previous fight that healed long ago. Even now, her muzzle had a few scratches that came from her latest kill that looked like it would at least irritate her. But if Aurora was bothered, she gave no indication.

"So what's your secret you two?" the brown-feathered teen asked. "You guys got a secret hunting ground plump herbivores or something?"

The Twins shared a quick glance with each other, practically having a mental debate in their eyes. Not sure if they should reveal the Park, Terrence and Matilda settled on a cover story that would hopefully satisfy the questioning Aurora.

"We're just really good hunters!" Matilda piped up.

"Yeah, we're like super hunters!" Terrence continued. "In fact, we were just looking for a place to eat our dinner when we came to see what was going on."

He gestured to the two sizeable pieces of cow that the Twins brought with them. This gained the intrigue of the teen Alaskan Rex. In Aurora's opinion, those pieces of meat were pretty big for leftovers. The Rex would be lucky to catch a sickly baby hadrosaur half that side, and these Twins had a relatively large cadaver that they were snacking on.

' _Well… we_ could _use the extra muscle…'_ Aurora's eyes wandered to Terrence and let her scandalous eyes rove over his form. ' _Plus that Terrence is a_ VERY _healthy looking male. Aurora likes.'_

With that final thought, the teen made up her mind.

"Okay 'Super Hunters', if you guys are the real deal, my family could use a few more jaws on our next hunt. Wanna help us out? It would be nice to talk to someone other than my family."

Terrence and Matilda found this opportunity very tempting. The Twins loved their lives in Prehistoric Park, but they've always wondered what other Rexes were like. Their only experiences were each other, barely recalled memories of their mother and father, and some scenes from a movie called "Jurassic Park" that the new engineer Ellis showed them on his off time; it was interesting, but the animal noises that voiced the movie Rex was gibberish in their ears. So with a smile, the Twins eagerly nodded, agreeing to Aurora's suggestion.

"Great! Now follow me," Aurora strode up to the now cooled carcass. "Let me just get my dinner to go."

The teen sank her teeth into the neck of the carcass and proceeded to drag the corpse off. The weight of the dead body made it a bit difficult for Aurora to carry it off by herself, but she was determined; she had a family to feed after all. The process was slow-going, but she was surprised when the Twins flanked her sides. For a moment, her nerves were on edge. She honestly thought they were going to attack her. However, what happened next flummoxed her.

"You need some help Aurora?" Terrence asked.

"Yeah, if we help out, we can get to your family faster." Matilda finished.

Aurora had never known other predators to be as helpful as the Twins. Families and Pack Species made sense; temporary hunts with other carnivores were rare but not unheard of. But carnivores helping out of the goodness of their hearts? Aurora would sooner believe Pachyrhinosaurs to fly before thinking that there were altruistic predators. She just added that trait to the list she was making of the strangers that were Terrence and Matilda.

The feathered teen smiled and agreed. With some effort the trio of Tyrannosaurs tore the carcass into three manageable parts for them to carry off. The Twins and Aurora walked deeper into the forest, each group glad that they made new friends.

Post AN: Oh boy...looks like things are starting to look bad for everyone in the park. Well at least Patchi got a bit of closure and Scar has some new friends. Now just to clarify, but Aurora (and her kind) are feathered because they live in a colder region, thus would need some down to keep them warm. This does go against recent paleontology discoveries by a bit in regards to most large carnivores at this time, but please bear with us. In addition, for any characters from other media, they will appear as they are in our series. We hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one.


	21. The Woods Where It Happens

While the park was secluded inside a valley that had a natural barrier against outside forces, it was not immune to infiltrators on the inside. Mainly, small predators that were able to slip into the territory effectively. This was the case for a certain group of _Troodons_ that found it easy to observe day to day life in Temporary Park.

Five blue and grey feathered _Troodons_ were situated in one part of the valley, observing the goings on in this new setting. Neither of them knew what to make of these things. The odd things started months ago, when these strange bipeds with no scales, tails, and claws just decided to build things in this valley. Loud noises kept ringing in their heads every time they tried to come in for a closer look. So much that they decided to stay away for a while.

When next they returned, there were huge wooden structures that surrounded those strange caves inside. And rather than being deserted, creatures that were familiar and unfamiliar came to take up residence. It was then that they discovered they were able to go passed the boundary that kept them away.

These five were part of a pack of twelve, and were scouting for the day. And they had been visiting ever since these new creatures first appeared in the valley. Curiosity was always dominant in their minds.

If only there was a way to get into that place easily AND into those strange caves that were always locked up. The new delectable smells in the air were simply irresistible. Neither of them wanted to attract any unwanted attention.

While most would think _Troodons_ are adapted for a predatory lifestyle, they are actually opportunistic omnivores. Seeds, nuts, and fruits were essential in their diets, along with smaller animals and dinosaurs. The plants they relied on most of the year were dying out, and they would need to either scavenge for food or hunt. But neither of them could resist the possible treasures inside this strange alcove.

And thinking of them now was making them hungry.

Their observations for the day were informative to say the least. They watched the two herds mingling with each other in the other part of the valley, the weird bipeds going about on their strange contraptions, and those other bipeds being driven mercilessly by that four-legged herbivore around the area. If there was anything they could take back to their leader, it was that there were more things neither of them could fathom.

The group of three females and two males retreated away. They hopped over rocks, ducked under logs, and sprinted passed shrubs and trees, all while making their way further and further away from the park, back to where the rest of their pack resided.

Their small size and nimble movements allowed them to traverse the forest obstacles with relative ease. As they did this, they discussed their findings amongst themselves with relative excitement.

"Did you see those huge long neck things?" said one of the males on the far right.

"I've never seen anything so big!"

"Pfft, those things?" the leading male snorted. "What about those smells? I swear, something fresh and juicy just keeps hitting my nose. They keep coming from that one odd cave where those puffs of whatever those are keep going up. I tell you, we need to go and investigate that."

"We can't!" went one of the females. "Remember the last time we ventured there? We couldn't get into those things! There's no way in them!"

That pale female was supported by her sister, who was running alongside her. "And with those huge predators there? I don't think we'll be able to get too close with them always roaming."

"We don't need to worry about raiding those caves," remarked the leading male. "Not yet. Let's just focus on getting at those leaf eaters there. There's so many of them! If we plan it right, we could snag a few of them. We'll be able to last this whole winter without a problem."

"Ooh but let's go check out the inside first!" one of the females pointed out excitedly. "I wonder if they have some good food in there."

"Let's report our findings to our leader first."

 _ ****CRASH****_

The _Troodons_ screeched when a huge brown shape rushed in from their left. The large trees had provided so much cover for this huge predator that neither of them could see it coming. And their conversation had distracted them from sniffing out the smell of decay wafting from its maw.

The five of them scattered in different directions, all trying to escape the destructive exploits of the tyrannosaur. Soon, the one was joined by three more as they joined in on the miniature feast.

Every lunge and swipe, they dodged. Every opening, they tried to get to escape. But their exits were always cut off by a tail or a looming head. It all happened so fast for them.

Only when the four giant predators were ambushed by five large creatures did the _Troodons_ manage to escape. Neither of them was wounded, but they were shaken. All they wanted to do was flee. As they did, they left behind the gruesome scene behind them.

Had they bothered to look back, they would have seen their saviors have none of those feathers those attackers had. And one of them, in contrast to the teal, green, red, and brown, was colored blue. The air that once had the roars of the invading tyrannosaurs was replaced by the sounds of crunching bone and ripping flesh.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The roars of the skirmish in the other side of the valley were a bit disturbing to those who could hear it. But it was so far out and dark for anyone to make out what really happened. All it did was instill some fear in the inhabitants in the valley on what they really were. The rex twins and their new companion were the exceptions. They were too busy with helping on bringing the _Anchiceratops_ carcass parts to Aurora's home.

The ceratopsian corpse was a little heavier than expected, but the Twins had each other for support. Matilda held onto the nape with her jaws while her brother held onto the base of the tail. The female rex made sure to keep the head up to prevent any blood from dripping; wouldn't want anyone else to find a bloody trail leading to this stranger's home.

The only other thing that helped them keep going were the cries of the smaller creatures that were scurrying away at their wake. This inflated their egos a bit, making them look stronger and fiercer.

While they were walking in the more forested portions of the valley, the Twins knew they were traveling further away from Temporary Park. They did sneak their way around the main part of the park through the forest until they got to the exit. With it being nighttime, they were able to sneak away undetected from the Alaskan _Pachyrhinosaurus_ herd. If they saw them sneaking out with a strange rex, there may be confusion and pandemonium; relations between the park and that herd were still shaky.

When they exited that part of the valley, the trio continued to "hug" the valley wall for another hour; it was a mountain range that provided some additional protection to this little sanctuary. The trees slowly gave way into rocks, until the trio came across a cave within a mountain wall.

Terrence and Matilda's keen sense of smell picked up the scent of decay. Bones and bits of rotting flesh came from the cave. Along with that came another scent; Aurora's scent, along with a mix of others.

Sleeping outside of the cave, curled up like a cat, was another _Tyrannosaurus Rex_.

This one was smaller, perhaps younger than Aurora. The plumage this one sported was similar to the female Alaskan rex, except there were a few white feathers in some parts of the body. And from the musculature of this individual, this one appeared to be male.

"Borealis!" Aurora cried out at the sleeping rex, dropping the flesh in her jaws. "What part of 'guarding our den' did you not understand? No sleeping on the job!"

The young rex jolted awake, followed by a cat-like yawn. His razor-sharp teeth that were the size of bananas were dripping with columns of saliva before they were once again covered by his reptilian jaw.

"Aw come on, sis," he drearily responded. "Can't I get a bit of shut eye? I'm tired!"

"Do that and some other interloper will take you out in your sleep. Now look alive, we've got guests."

One of his blue eyes slowly opened, staring at his huffing sister. "Guests?"

The elder sister turned around to the Twins. She gestured at them to drop the carcass, which landed on the ground with a flop. She then grabbed at the neck and started to drag the corpse into the cave, while revealing the Twins to a now surprised Borealis.

From what they could tell, he was really analyzing them now; from how full they looked, to how big they were, and their lack of feathers. At first, he stared at Terrence with a hint of curiosity, but then his eyes fell on Matilda. He became fully intrigued with her.

Matilda was a bit put off by how he was looking at her. Why was he staring at her?

Sure, she didn't have those feathers and the park has done well to help with her constitution, but what else would make him so interested? Maybe it was how she smelled? That would probably make sense. She probably smelled like a mix of every single Resident in the park with a dash of human. Maybe that's what it was.

The younger male quickly got up and straightened himself. "Uh...hi there! I haven't seen you two before. You from around here?"

The teen rexes cast a nervous glance at each other. While they were glad to be meeting others of their kind, they were a little leery about revealing their upbringing. Telling these strangers about Prehistoric Park would be fantastical to them. It could spiral into chaos if they really found out the truth. Their friends back at home could be in danger.

Not wanting to cause any trouble, they responded with anonymity.

"No, no we're not," said Terrence.

"We're from really far away," his sister added.

Aurora came up to her brother after she dropped the carcass pieces in the back of the cave, next to an old carcass of a hadrosaur that was mostly bones. "This is Terrence and his sister, Matilda. They're a couple of other rexes I found during my hunt. They claim to be expert hunters."

Borealis nodded with a bit of understanding, though keeping an air of suspicion. "Huh...interesting. Aren't you two cold?"

The young male twin shook his head. "Well, we're not used to cold, but it doesn't bother us too much."

"Wow, you two must be really strong to take this weather. Especially since you two are...well...like that," he indirectly pointed out to their appearances. This however, upset Aurora and caused her to roar disapprovingly to the younger rex, much to his annoyance.

"Idiot!" she berated. "You want to get another brutal lecture from Dad? Manners!"

Her brother grimaced at his rudeness. He looked back at the twins with an apologetic gaze. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

"Eh, don't worry about it," Terrence dismissed the impoliteness casually. "You were curious. Plus, I've made my own mistakes too like that so I know where you're coming from. Now, if it were more insulting, then we might bite," he chuckled playfully.

This time, it was Matilda's turn to scold her own sibling. His overall reaction was akin to that of the Alaskan male's. "Terrence!"

"What?"

She rolled her eyes at him. Before she could have her turn at scolding her sibling,

Aurora had alerted them to something a bit more pressing.

"Oh, looks like Mom and Dad are back."

When the Twins quickly looked back at where Aurora was gesturing, their excitement turned into intimidation when they noticed two large hunters coming towards them.

Terrence and Matilda had heard of stories of how their kind was one of the most terrifying creatures to have ever walked the Earth of all time, courtesy of the humans they were raised with. And that was supported by their short time with their mother AND their single encounter with the very rex that killed her while they were younglings.

They may be able to stand up to something as big as Diablo, but having to encounter actual adult rexes was still an intimidating experience. One wrong move and they'll be dead in an instant.

Terrence and Matilda could not match these two in terms of size; the Twins were shorter than them, meaning they had a bit more growing to do. The larger one, which they could see was male, sported a coat of brown features on most of his body, except for his feet, arms, and his face. The tip of his tail and head had some white plumage in contrast to the rest of his body, much like that of a bald eagle or a lion's mane. The female, who was slightly smaller and leaner, was colored in stark, earthy browns and red and lacked the white plumage.

The Twins became even more unnerved when they took notice of the carcasses they had in their jaws; two dead brown-feathered tyrannosaurs with long gashes along their bodies and their lifeless eyes stared back at them. As the two of them did their best to keep themselves composed (they did not want to embarrass themselves in front of the first adult rexes they've seen in a long time) Aurora and Borealis excitedly came up to greet the newcomers.

"Hi Mom! Hi Dad!" Borealis greeted.

"Awesome!" Aurora cheered as she inspected each corpse with interest. "You brought in some kills; big ones too! We're going to eat good for the next three days!"

"Where did you find them?" her brother added as he inspected their dead kin.

Surprisingly, he showed no shock or remorse that they were even like them.

"Wait, what exactly are these?"

The large male dropped the prey with a crash and a flop. Its tongue rolled out while it stared up into blank space before becoming still.

" _Albertosaurus_ ," replied the father with a deep rumble like thunder. "There were several of them stalking a bit of a ways from the valley."

His mate replied with an equally deep, yet feminine and fierce, tone after dropping her prey. "We knew they would be problematic in large groups, so we had to pick out whichever ones were too far out. And that is a valuable lesson you two should know."

"It took us a couple of tries though," their father turned his left side to them to show four gashes down his ribs; the blood was already drying into a deep, chunky red.

He also had faded scratches he obtained over the years from past bouts. And like him, his mate had them too. "But they couldn't handle anything that was bigger than them."

"Well now you two have a couple more marks to add to your hides," the young female joked with a bit of a snicker. "But I never knew there were more like us close by. Any idea why they're here?"

Unfortunately, neither of them had a valid answer to that.

"We don't know," went her father. "Probably because they're attracted to the huge number of herbivores around. Hopefully they know better to only kill what they need."

Before their conversation could go any further, all eyes fell on the prehistoric elephants in the room. Or more specifically, the foreign rexes watching the whole conversation. Their interest was replaced by startled expressions.

"Trespassers!" the huge male roared.

His mate followed with a roar of her own. A menacing hiss followed as she rushed up to tear them apart for intruding. Terrence and Matilda, shocked by this behavior, immediately went on the defensive. The two of them roared as well and prepared to attack.

It should have been common sense. The first thing adults would do in order to defend their territory AND their family would be to attack. Now they're paying for it with their lives.

It was about to turn into a bloodbath when something came between the two sides. The mother rex backed away in surprise when she saw her daughter blocking her way. The Twins could only watch as their new friend defended them.

"Wait! Don't hurt them!"

Both parents staggered back at the sudden move their daughter made. Her mother still hissed defensively while her father only eyed the Twins with suspicion.

"Aurora? What is going on? Who are these two?" the older female asked her eldest.

While Aurora kept her guard up, she replied with complete honesty. "I made a couple of friends today. They helped me bring in the third share of our meals here," she said while gesturing over at the _Anchiceratops_ corpse she brought in.

Her parents looked at the dead ceratopsian before gazing back at the Twin rexes. While her father remained silent, her mother continued her investigation.

"Who are you?" she asked aggressively.

Out of the Twins, it was Matilda who was the one to bravely answer her. "My name's Matilda and this is my brother, Terrence. We were just in the area exploring when we ran into your daughter."

"Why did you help her?" she demanded. "Is it because you wanted to steal our food or eliminate your competition?"

This time, it was Terrence's turn to answer. "Neither. We just wanted to help her with bringing her food."

"That and we've never seen anyone like...well anyone like you guys before," his sister supported.

The wary female continued to stare them down, all the while baring her teeth and thinking of snapping their necks. But as she did, her mate slowly marched up to them. His towering stature caused the two featherless rexes to become even more intimidated. He too bore an air of caution, but one that was more controlled than his angry mate.

When he stopped before them, he leaned down and started to circle around them, all the while giving them a few whiffs. The Twins tried to not freak out too much. This was one of the first things a predator would do when inspecting a newcomer. As he sniffed them, they could hear him muttering words like "grass-chewer" and "odd-smelling". The both of them gulped; they smelled like their friends in the park. They hoped he would not prod into why they smelled that way.

Thankfully, it did not come to that. The huge male stopped in front of them and put on a calmer expression.

"I am Tundrous," he introduced before gesturing over to his slowly simmering mate, "And this is my mate, Sitka. Where do you two come from?"

"They said they're from far out, but they wouldn't say where," Aurora mentioned.

"Hm..." the hulking Tundrous scrutinized the two, making them uneasy, "Did you come here with anyone? A hunting group?"

Both Terrence and Matilda shook their heads. At least they could be honest about that.

"It's just us," Terrence said.

Aurora and Borealis' father took a step back while letting out a long sigh. His expression softened where it did not show a killer ready to be let loose. "Very well. You haven't attacked out children, so I suppose you are trustworthy. But you two look like you've been keeping yourselves well-fed," he pointed out how fit they looked.

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" his daughter agreed, only to be shushed by her mother.

"Tell me, does the place you come from have food in abundance?"

The adolescent Prehistoric Park rexes cast nervous glances to each other. Their need to protect their little secret dominated their thoughts, though they were not wrong on that part regarding the food, even though they were practically being fed.

"Oh yeah!" Matilda saved face. "Yeah, there's a ton of food where we're from."

The feathered adolescent female jumped excitedly at her parents, much to their surprise. "Mom, Dad, let's have them join us in our hunt!"

Terrence and Matilda just gawked at her. Borealis remained silent, but they could clearly see one of his eyes twitching. Them? Go on a hunt? But neither of them had ever hunted with a group of rexes before! And there really wasn't a need to hunt because they were being cared for in the park. Their excursions outside of the park were just to stretch their legs and get a feel of the place.

As young rexes grow, they must learn how to hunt by observing their parents. Eventually, they would hunt alongside their families for a time before they decide on whether they want to leave and go create their own legacies or stay with them.

Neither of which the Twins had ever gone through.

Now they have a chance to actually hunt with other rexes. This was a sound idea; it was a way for them to get in touch with their roots.

Well, to say they were never taught to hunt would be an understatement. They did get some tutoring in some way...courtesy of the keepers in the park. But to the eyes of any other predator, it would be VERY unconventional. And they never had a chance to try out that technique. Given the circumstances, now would be a good a time as any to hunt with others of their kind.

"If where they're from has a lot of food, then they know how to hunt! If we have two more in our group, it'll be a lot faster to get food for tonight," Aurora added.

"Wait, tonight?" Matilda inquired. "But what about the food you brought in?"

"Well, I wasn't sure if our parents were going to bring any food for tonight. Now that I see they did, we can save our spoils for later, since winter is coming."

The female Prehistoric Park rex nodded in understanding. "Oh. Save them for later. That's a good idea."

And sure enough, Tundrous and Sitka were quick to agree with that suggestion. It was quite a turn for the adult rexes that saw them as a threat at first to switch to trusting them.

The huge male rumbled in his throat before he spoke up. "Considering that winter is coming and our children need more practice in hunting as a team, I suppose we can let you two come along. We could use the extra muscle."

Aurora cheered, almost screeching to a point that grated their nonexistent ears. She was so excited that she started hip-bumping the Twins; Terrence felt awkward while Matilda felt like biting her head off for such a notion. "Cool! We are going to be one fierce team! Those leaf-eaters aren't going to know what hit'em!"

The family proceeded to drop off their prey into a ditch in the very back of the cave. It was there long before either of them arrived, so how it got there was a mystery. It was deep enough for the prey to hide, though the tops of their chests were barely noticeable. It was a good idea to keep them out most predators (unless they had a good sense of smell that could get passed the smell of other rexes or were just really curious), but it would not stop others from coming in for a bite.

Afterwards, they started out for their hunt. Despite being inexperienced in hunting, they were excited about this. This was their first real hunt, and in a group no less.

Now they could finally feel like the kings and queens they were meant to be, even if it was just for one night.

They were elated to go on this venture, but the both of them failed to sense the slight tension in the air. Had they bothered to look back, they would have seen Sitka trailing behind them slightly. She kept her eyes on them, like a hawk would to a wounded prey. The Twins were too busy conversing with Aurora and Borealis on the layouts of this valley and how delicious the food was to notice. Unlike her mate, her suspicions of them remained. She had seen them before at their wooden den and was not quite sure what to make of them.

She kept her eye on them while they proceeded out to find their kill.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alaskan Forests…

Despite living in the crisp conditions of Alaska, the moon's comforting glow was very ethereal. With no cloud cover that night, the silvery moon shined enough to illuminate the trees of chilly redwood forest. With the winter approaching, the greenery was losing its luster, but the resilient cedar trees continued to grow despite the season. There was nothing but silence, trees, and the glow of the silver moon.

Then six figures stalked through the woods.

Tundrous and Sitka fell in step with each other. Despite their multi-toned bodies, the adults moved remarkably silent between the trees. They were the perfect examples of the perfect hunters.

Tailing the experienced hunters were four younger Rexes; their children, and Terrence and Matilda.

The Twins somehow managed to step upon every twig and stone on their path. They also bumped into trees thanks to their unawareness and lack of grace as hunters. The Twins cursed under their breaths from their stumbles, Aurora and Borealis having to silently shush their acquaintances. But other than that, the Alaskan _Tyrannosaurus_ family was laser focused on their goal.

When the Twins were told that the Rex family was going hunting and that they could tag along, quietly walking through the woods wasn't quite what they had in mind. The teen Residents thought that being T-rexes meant that they were the top predator, hunting sauropod-sized prey, stomping through the vast forests, and roaring at the top of their lungs. That was what those T-rexes on media all did, and the TV never lied, right?

Tundrous and Sitka halted the procession of the group. Both of their children stopped at their parents' command, flanking their sides. Both Terrence and Matilda, not noticing the silent command, stumbled into the idle Rex teens.

"Ow!"

"Hey watch it!"

Both Alaskan siblings bit out, yet catching themselves from falling over. Terrence and Matilda sheepishly apologized. Before the Twins could talk, they were interrupted by deep grunting coming from the clearing ahead. The two carnivorous Residents peered through the foliage and were surprised at the being they saw.

There was a small group of very large herbivores pawing the ground and munching on some green stuff. The Twins were surprised at the size of these herbivores, they were a little over the length of the adult Rexes and just as bulky. If the Twins could equate them to anything, the herbivores looked like a mix between the _Iguanodons_ and a crest-less _Parasaurolophus_. The largest member of the group had a white eye in contrast to his normal black one; a result of old age or a previous attack most likely.

"Perfect! A group of _Edmontosaurus_ ," Sitka whispered to the younger Rexes. "And one of them is partially blind!"

Tundrous then made a low rumble that emanated from the male's stomach. He and Sitka nodded and began to stalk off to flank the Edmontosaur group. Sitka then made a near-inaudible snort to her children, who also nodded. The feathered siblings crouched low, looking ready to pounce.

"Aurora, Borealis. What are you doing?" Matilda asked.

"Quiet!" Borealis harshly whispered.

"We're getting ready to ambush these fat guys," Aurora softly informed. "You two better get ready too. Give you a chance to show what you can do."

"Oh… Okay! We gotcha!" Terrence cheered.

Both Matilda and Terrence were itching to show off to the wild Rex family, eager to impress them with their hunting prowess. The four young Rexes inched their way to the open glade closer to the massive duckbills.

"Okay… get ready…" Aurora whispered, her whole body taut like a spring.

"Steady…" Borealis continued, licking his dagger-like teeth in anticipation.

"Go!" both siblings whispered.

 _ ***RRROOOAAARRR!***_

The Alaskan Siblings were startled at the sudden bellowing and the Twins blatantly sprinting directly at their massive prey.

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

"Terrence! Matilda! Stop!"

The Twins didn't hear their new friends' warning; they were caught up in their own little "hunt". Their boisterous charge alerted every Edmontosaur in the glade, making them bolt away from the area. It surprised the Twins that those large herbivores could move so fast. Terrence and Matilda's intended target, the partially blind male, didn't run away like they expected. He aggressively honked at them and reared up to his hind legs.

It was at this moment, the Twins knew, that they f*cked up.

 _ ***BBAARRAAGG!***_

The burly male _Edmontosaurus_ used a hoof to strike Terrence in the face, violently knocking him to the ground. Before Matilda could shout in worry for her brother, the fierce duckbill managed to head-butt the underside of her jaw, making the teen Rex nearly bite her tongue; Matilda was left sprawled on the floor next to her brother.

Despite having the Twins at his mercy, the handicapped male fled when he saw Aurora and Borealis sprint out of their cover to save their friends. As the _Edmontosaurus_ was galloping away, Tundrous and Sitka frantically lunged out in an attempt to salvage the blunder of a hunt caused by their children's new friends. Unfortunately, the scarred male juked and weaved through the adult Rexes' jaws and made a break to the forest.

"What in the world were you two thinking?!" Tundrous roared at the sprawled Twins.

"W-We were attacking the herd," Terrence stuttered.

"What hunter in their right mind would roar at unsuspecting prey? That is just inviting fight or flight."

"Who taught you younglings to hunt like that?" Sitka curiously asked.

"No time for that!" the father Rex interrupted. "Aurora, Borealis. This ambush turned into a chase. I want you and your friends to pursue that male. Make sure you attempt to injure him. We've had a streak of successful hunts so far, I'll be damned if this embarrassment of an ambush ends it!"

"Okay dad," Aurora nodded, "Borealis, start tracking! Matilda, Terrence, pull yourselves together. We need to get moving."

Her brother nodded, "On it Sis."

As the Twins regained their bearings, the four youths took off into the forest.

The Rex Residents have never been so thoroughly embarrassed in their life. They figured that since they had so much combat experience under their belt, that hunting would be a cinch. However, that _Edmontosaurus_ swiftly beat them down. As the quartet sprinted through the trees, Aurora couldn't help but spare a few curious glances at her new friends.

"Terrence, Matilda… about back there…" Aurora tentatively started.

The Twins sighed, a bit uncomfortable at the situation.

"We haven't… exactly been hunting before." Terrence said.

"You haven't?" went the flabbergasted Borealis. "Shouldn't your parents have taught you how to hunt? And didn't you two mention that you were great hunters before?"

Aurora gave them a distrustful look, one that shamefaced the Twins. "You two were lying…weren't you?"

Matilda sighed. "We've lost our dad shortly before we hatched. And we lost our mom when we younger to another adult Rex."

Aurora raised an eye ridge. "How are you here if no one taught you to take care of yourself then?"

The Twins shared a look before Matilda responded. "We were rescued shortly after our mom was killed. And we've been cared for ever since."

"Who—?"

"Sis, look alive! I found the fat ass!" Borealis interrupted.

The quartet broke through the tree line to see the scarred Edmontosaur galloping across the clearing. Just as the male glanced back at the young Rexes, he was broad sided by a grey blur. A grey theropod's jaws was latched onto the ornithopod's back like a vice drawing large amounts of blood. In an instant later, several more figures darted out of the forest and struck various parts of the _Edmontosaurus_ , each drawing blood. One last figure, a blue blur if the Twins saw correctly in the moon's light, dashed out and gave a killing blow to the herbivore's neck. What they all had in common was that they struck without alerting the plus sized prey. The duckbill groaned one last time before he slumped over dead.

"WOO! Great job fellas! This one's a big one!" the blue theropod cheered to his companions. When the Twins took a closer look, they saw that his right arm was malformed and slightly slumped, looking as if his arm had been broken and was improperly healed.

Both feathered Rexes shied away from the smaller, yet extremely dangerous group of predators. The Twins however, were left stunned as they continued to stare at the bleeding corpse at the smaller theropods' feet.

"There's—There's so much blood…" Matilda murmured.

"I think I'm gonna hurl…" Terrence said, gaining a green hue on his face. Let it be known that the Twins have NEVER had to kill for their meals before. As such, they were unprepared to see how messy a fresh kill could be.

The teens' stilled figures made the sapphire hued theropod take notice. He was wary at the new sights, but was relaxed when he saw the feathered Aurora and Borealis.

"Hey, hey, hey! Aurora and Borealis! The Northern Lights siblings!" The blue dinosaur cheered.

"H-Hello sir…" the Alaskan siblings stuttered.

Before the pleasant blue dinosaur could continue, Tundrous and Sitka broke through the tree line. The adult Rexes skidded to a halt when they recognized the pack of predators. Tundrous and Sitka were immediately put on edge.

"Ah, Tundrous! How are you Big T? And Sitka, lovely as ever."

"Yes… Greetings," Tundrous curtly nodded.

"Now, I know you four," the azure carnivore commented. His eyes then fell upon the Twins with curiosity. "But who are these two naked youngsters?"

"These are Terrence and Matilda. They are recent additions to my group from the south," Tundrous replied.

"'Terrence and Matilda'?" the predator questioned, looking over the young Rexes oddly. "I gotta admit, you kids got some weird names. What kind of creature names their hatchlings 'Terrence and Matilda' anyways?"

At this point, the Twins snarled at the insult to them.

"And what the heck's wrong with our names?!" Terrence growled.

Matilda continued off her brother. "What's your name? Blueberry? Small Fry? Maybe Gimp Arm!?"

The Rex family's jaws dropped at the shear disrespect shown to the blue theropod.

Immediately, the handicapped predator's posse snarled and bared their dagger teeth at the Resident teens.

"Who the HELL do you runts think you are?!" a male snarled.

"You got a death wish or something, brats?!" another theropod snapped.

Before the situation could escalate, the sapphire hued carnivore stepped forward.

"Hey, calm down everyone! I wouldn't be a good Alpha if I couldn't handle a little name calling from a couple of younglings," the pack leader interrupted before focusing at the Twins again. "By the way Sweetheart, the name's Gorgon. Gorgon the Alpha _Gorgosaurus_. Ya know, in case you're interested."

The now named Gorgon shifted to the two Gorgosaurs who shouted at the young Rexes.

"If you fellas got enough energy to scare some younglings, why don't you take a few boys to track that group of fat asses that passed through here?"

"Aw come on Gorgon, we just took down this big Edmonto!" Gorgon's subordinate complained.

"Get crackin' you two! We need more meat to feed our pack and our guests!" Gorgon cheerfully ordered.

"What! Come on Boss—!"

"Do it or I'll tear out your throat!" the leader swiftly said in the same tone. His tone and smile didn't match up with Gorgon's threat, but one look from his yellow, steely eyes told his underlings that he was serious.

Both males who interrupted merely nodded. "Right Boss…"

Gorgon's large pack left until it was just Gorgon himself, three other companions, and the Rexes.

"Well, now that all that nastiness is taken care of, this meeting is quite fortuitous Big T. I needed to talk to you and Sitka," Gorgon casually said as he paced slightly closer to the more physically imposing Rex couple.

"Do you now?" Tundrous said, raising an eye ridge.

"Yeah, it'll be quick, I promise." When the parents looked unmoved, Gorgon continued. "Also, I couldn't help but notice your kids are looking a little thin there. Been a few days since you've had a steady supply of meat? How about we let your kids and mine have their fill of the carcass here while we talk business, that sound good?"

Both Sitka and Tundrous shared a look with each other. While Gorgon had a less than stellar reputation, they both knew he treasured his child as much as they treasured Aurora and Borealis.

Both Rex parents sighed as they finally relented.

"Okay, fine." Sitka said.

Tundrous' cautious eyes never left the blue _Gorgosaurus_. "Lead the way, Gorgon."

"Alright, awesome!" Gorgon then focused his gaze to the forest. "Azura, it's okay to come out, hon!"

Tentatively stepping into the clearing was another sapphire colored _Gorgosaurus_.

However, instead of Gorgon's heavyset masculine frame, the new Gorgosaur was sleek in appearance, evident of a feminine figure. She was physically smaller, clearly showing that she was a teenager as well.

The now named Azura lit up when she saw Aurora and Borealis.

"Aurora! Borealis! It's good to see you two again!"

The Alaskan Siblings gave a genuine smile as the smaller theropod approached the two.

The young Gorgosaur pranced around the young Rexes like a hyper puppy. As the children of the wild carnivores were mingling amongst each other, Gorgon glanced at his three subordinates at his side.

"Wilhelm, Nisha, you're with me. Anaeth, be a darling and watch over the younglings, will ya? Don't want anything bad happening to them." Gorgon then spoke to the elder Rexes. "Tundrous. Sitka. This way."

At Gorgon's orders, Nisha, the brown and burgundy female, and Wilhelm, the gold and white colored male, stalked forward along with Gorgon into the forest. Tundrous and Sitka only hesitated for a moment, but they decided to humor Gorgon, if only to hear him out.

"See you later kiddos! Save me a piece of the heart my angel!"

"No promises daddy!" Azura called after her dad.

"Don't give your Aunt Anaeth any trouble, her ankle's going."

"I'll show you where my ankle's going, you titanic ass…" Anaeth grunted as she rolled her eyes as she stalked off to the side of the glade, far enough away from the younger members of the group, yet having a vantage of the entire area in case something does wander into the opening.

The crimson and black female was the strongest warrior of Gorgon's pack, so she didn't take any cracks from the blue _Gorgosaurus_ personally since he unfortunately had that abrasive personality for as long as she had known him.

As Anaeth relaxed off to the side, Azura turned to the Twins with an apologetic look on her face.

"Sorry about my dad. He takes some time to get used to," the young _Gorgosaurus_ apologized. "Like my dad said, my name is Azura. What are your names?"

"Name's Terrence."

"Matilda."

"Your dad sure is… unique," Terrence gingerly said.

"Yeah… well, he's a dad. He can't be cool all the time," the baby blue theropod chirped. "So anyways, where'd you guys come from? I've never seen you guys around here before."

The Twins shared a quick look, having an entire conversation between the two in an instant.

"We… are just passing through from the south," Matilda said.

Terrence continued off his sister. "Yeah! We traveled here until our home is renovated."

Matilda gave her brother a quick tail slap. She should've known that her brother couldn't improv.

"So… you two… traveled 'north'… for the winter?" Azura tentatively questioned. "Okay…"

The Gorgosaur huntress leaned over to Aurora and Borealis.

"Are these two brain ill?" Azura stage whispered to the Alaskan siblings.

"Azura!"

"Yeah."

"Borealis!" Aurora chastised the younger predators on their behavior.

"Anyways, nice to meet you two!" Azura said, changing her mood so fast that the Twins could have gotten whiplash. "Come on crazies, let's dig in."

Azura, Aurora, and Borealis went over to the recently deceased corpse. As the trio was busy trying to tear open the dead herbivore's ribcage, the Twins stood off to the side, unsure of how to cut in. Ever since Prehistoric Park rescued Terrence and Matilda, the teenaged Rexes never had to actually learn how to eat from a freshly killed animal. They just ate whatever Nigel's Keepers saw fit to feed them. As of now, the Park raised Residents felt a bit out of their element.

Aurora perked up when she noticed the Twins looking uncertain off to the side.

"Guys come on! Get in on this before Borealis hogs all the good parts!" the friendly Rex huntress said.

The Twins came forward to get a better look of the other younglings eviscerating the corpse. The Park raised Rexes noticed that despite them ripping up large quantities of meat, the Alaskan born carnivores barely ate those meaty pieces. Instead, they set it off to the side as they continued to tear into the body. Terrence and Matilda chose at that time to latch onto the carcass and ripped off pieces for them to eat.

It took the Twins by surprise from how warm the flesh and blood was from the fresh kill, so unlike the tepid animal carcasses that the Keepers gave them.

"Hey, why are you guys just eating the muscles?" Borealis commented, pausing from his eviscerating.

Both Twins were confused at the odd question.

"What else would we eat?"

Borealis rolled his eyes before turning to his sister. "Jeez Sis, where did you say you found these guys again?"

"Maybe they were raised to be scavengers?" Azura answered for the older Alaskan Rex.

The young _Gorgosaurus_ gestured for the Twins to come closer. She then called out to the group's "Babysitter". "Auntie Anaeth! Can you help teach the crazies here the prime parts of a carcass?"

Anaeth merely sighed but complied at her surrogate niece's request. Despite being portrayed as a badass huntress, Anaeth had a soft spot for the cute little baby blue youngling. As the petite predator tore into the body until most of the muscle and ribs were dislodged, exposing the herbivore's organs, Anaeth sidled up to the group of younglings for her impromptu lesson. The adult _Gorgosaurus_ then cleared her throat, looking as if she were a grisly biology teacher.

"As carnivores, we devour certain body parts in order to keep healthy," the crimson carnivore then pointed to a specific organ in the opened body. "This is the heart, the organ that pumps the blood in the body. Since it's a muscle, it's a bit tough to chew on, but sometimes some blood gets stuck in there mid pump, making a tasty bloody treat…"

Azura licked her chops before shaking out of her dreamy thoughts. "I got dibs on it, no touch!"

Anaeth snorted before she continued, edging lower on the carcass to two odd looking lumps.

"These lumps are kidneys. They contain vast amounts of blood for its size. These organs are softer and can be easily bitten through by even the weakest of bites."

"Those are a personal favorite of mine," Borealis commented. "Mom and Dad gave these parts to us to teach us about sharing or something."

Anaeth then moved a slight bit lower to a very large lump that was settled above the dead creature's intestines.

"This little beauty is the liver. This is where the most blood gathers and settles after a kill. It's VERY nutritious." The crimson theropod then bit around the organ and carefully extracted the liver and plopped it in front of the Twins. "Here, you two try it."

The Twins both approached the organ with some reservations before taking a small nibble. The first thing they noticed was that it was spongier than any other meat they had before. The second thing surprised them was the amount of bloody juice that splashed in their maws. Terrence and Matilda coughed and sputtered in surprise of how rich the exotic flavor was. Although it was different, it wasn't something the Twins disliked.

Anaeth and the other Alaskan residents chuckled at the Twins' strong reaction.

"Sorry about that. Liver flavor's a bit strong for first timers. But it's oh so good!" the crimson huntress giggled.

Despite being laughed at, the Twins took it in stride and laughed at their own expense. The group continued to disembowel the carcass, with the Twins learning all they could from their new connection to their wild predatory instincts.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the teenaged rexes, babysitter, and other Gorgosaurs were having their meal, Tundrous and Sitka were in a situation they didn't want to be in.

The Elder Rexes begrudgingly followed Gorgon and his disciples deep into the forest to have their little "chat". Although the Rexes were physically more powerful than the Gorgosaurs, Gorgon's pack ruled over the most controlled land than any other theropod they have ever came across. Not only did the azure predator have a strong pack, he made several alliances with other carnivore species. If the feathered hunters were from the Present, they would have equated Gorgon to a Kingpin to several crime families. And unfortunately for the Rexes, they fell under Gorgon's rule. They helped provide muscle for the _Gorgosaurus_ Kingpin in exchange for a large territory for them to raise their kids in.

Gorgon made his way to a small clearing that had a multitude of flat boulders scattered on the ground. The blue theropod hopped up on the largest rock until he was more or less at eye level with Tundrous and Sitka.

"Okay, serious time," Gorgon said unusually business-like than his norm.

"What do you want Gorgon?" Tundrous grunted. "It is unlike you to come into my family's territory unannounced."

"Yeah, I'll take responsibility for that. I was just confirming some things from some of our smaller neighbors. Besides, I wanted to talk to you two personally."

It was Sitka's turn to raise a brow in interest. "About?"

Gorgon then began to pace back and forth on the large boulder he stood on before continuing. "Word around the woods says that something new came to the main Feeding Ground hub a bit of a ways from Ambush Alley."

"I'd imagine 'something new' is a common occurrence for that place, considering it's a common place for travelers." Tundrous snarked.

"It's not a living thing," Gorgon replied. "Strange structures were assembled during the spring season by some little bipeds. I heard that these structures are big enough to encompass creatures as large as you two and then some."

"Structures made by little bipeds?" Sitka commented with some doubt. "Are you sure you haven't eaten some rancid flesh?"

"Me and Wilhelm thought that as well," the purple Gorgosaur responded. "However, we got our information from a gang of _Troodon_."

Sitka was still unconvinced. "Really, _Troodons_? Those delinquents are nothing but thieves and thugs that would do anything for scraps of meat."

"Well, you aren't wrong about that," Wilhelm chuckled. "But if there is one thing those parasites love, it's food. And they have been observing this place for a while now. What they've seen was a large herd of creatures living there."

"I'm telling you guys, those lumps of flesh are just BEGGING for us to go in and slaughter them." Gorgon eagerly said.

"And the reason your pack hasn't attacked them yet? Ambush Alley is in your territory." Tundrous curtly asked.

"Well big guy, I'm flattered that you think my pack is so capable, BUT I had some in my troupe do a headcount and there is an insane amount of creatures living there."

"How many is an 'insane amount'?" Tundrous questioned.

"A few hundred, give or take a few dozen," the blue leader casually mentioned, completely ignoring the Rexes' gaping faces. "Bottom line is that I'm recruiting every carnivore in the woods for my little 'hunting trip', and I could use the extra muscle."

"Even if we band together, you can't possibly think we can hunt all of those creatures," Sitka inputted her two cents. "Maybe one or two large bodies, but the rest would either flee or injure our hunting party."

"That's the best thing about it. The structure that the herd is living in protects them AND boxes them in. We just need to get in there and it'll be like a _Troodon_ raiding an unattended nesting site."

Even though Gorgon painted an appealing picture, Tundrous and Sitka weren't sure of the pros and cons of the _Gorgosaurus'_ hunting plans. The blue theropod could see the hesitation on their faces and decided to appeal to them a little bit more.

"Come on you two. You and I both know that winter is the harshest time to live through. Times are tough, and finding food is even tougher; finding enough food is damn near impossible, especially with a family. Not to mention my gut is telling me this winter will be the worst one; and my gut has never failed me. This boxed in herd is a godsend for us carnivores! We just need the power to take it."

The Rexes looked more convinced but were still unsure.

"Okay, how about you two sleep on it. Mull it over a while, and IF you want to join us, I'm rallying troops every week in my territory until we gather up enough forces to attack that structure," Gorgon relented, backing off the Rexes for the moment. "This—This has been a good chat. Good talk Tundrous, Sitka."

The two of them watched the one-armed _Gorgosaurus_ turn tail and leave. They shared a doubtful glance at each other before they followed him back to where the feasting tyrannosaurs were. As they gorged on the Edmontosaur carcass, the parents could not help but contemplate on Gorgon's words.

Was it true? Somewhere in this valley, there were structures that were keeping large prey items inside? And there were over a hundred of them in there? If this was true, then there would be enough food to last them for months, maybe even a year! Then there was his explanation on strange little bipeds. What exactly were those? Surely not _Troodons_ or raptors. Perhaps they were bipedal herbivores?

Even after they finished their meal and parted ways, those thoughts bugged them for the rest of the night like mosquitoes to a gaping wound. Everything Gorgon told them was too good to be true. It all sounded too fantastical...could it?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The forest was still abuzz with the vocalizations of creatures of the night. Even this far up north and in another time period, the forests of Late Cretaceous Alaska were always alive regardless of the time of day.

While it was a little noisy, Matilda and Terrence did not mind at all. They were so focused on how much they ate that night and the outcome of their hunt to even mind the wildlife. They just had their very first hunt, and with others of their kind no doubt. They made friends with a rex family that accepted them, encountered others that were rather rough, and had a rather exotic experience with their first real kill. Overall, the day was very eventful with mixed feelings.

With the late hours upon them, the Twins decided that it was time for them to head back. Tundrous and Sitka were rather tired from the meal and hunting so they chose to go back to their den, but not before having their children escort the Twin rexes to their home. Not wanting to give away their secret, they insisted that they take them back to where they first found the _Anchiceratops_. Thankfully, they did not question their judgement and went with them to that grove as they deduced they could find their way back from there.

When they arrived back at the spot where the ceratopsian met its end, the young rexes were once again chatting about the night's events.

"Okay, I have to admit, the hunt went off to a rocky start, but that was still great!" Aurora said rather reassuringly.

"Yeah, we make a great team!" Borealis seconded. "Though I'm still not sure who told you to run off roaring like that at prey when it's not the way to go."

Matilda gulped. Again with that mishap. Steeling herself, she did as best as she could to explain in a way they would understand. Neither of them would know what a television, or a phone, was after all. "Oh...uh we saw some other predator do it. Being that our parents died and we didn't really have anyone else to look up to for hunting, we assumed it was the right thing to do. Sorry..."

"Huh...so if you guys have no parents, then who's been looking after you?"

"And whoever did that kind of thing at a hunt must've screwed up big time if they went off like that."

And that question came up again. These rexes were very inquisitive. The Twins were really getting on the ropes with these two and their parents. Once again, they did the best they could to protect those back at the park. They did not want them to become their next potential meals or have the park become their next hunting grounds.

"Our guardians," the young featherless king replied. "They were the ones who looked out for us."

The feathered young queen gave them an inquisitive look. "Guardians?"

"Yeah!" an excited Terrence answered, "There's Nigel. He's the guy that took us in after we were orphaned. Then there are his friends; Suzanne, Bob, Marcus, and Hazel too."

Matilda gave him a snake-look before she stomped on his foot, making him whimper and cringe; so unlike a rex to act AND he just gave away part of their secret. While she silently berated him for his mistake, their friends continued to wonder about their answer.

"Nigel, Suzanne, Bob, Marcus and Hazel?" Borealis did his best to pronounce those names, with great success surprisingly. "I've never heard names like those before."

The Twins stopped dead immediately. Shutting themselves up from their little argument, they quickly looked up at the sky, hurriedly thinking of something to get them out of this situation before it got _too_ interesting for their new friends.

"Oh would you look at the time!" Matilda started with the best excuse she could come up with. "It's pretty late, we better be getting back to our den. Gotta get some shut-eye so we can be rested for tomorrow!"

Her remark had its intended effect, as it disappointed the two teenagers, mostly Borealis for some reason as he was rather upset about it. Matilda just shook that off as she was more focused on trying to get out of there.

"Oh…okay," he responded sadly.

"Well it was nice meeting you two," his sister made a quick comeback, "Hey, we should go hunting again. With winter coming, we're going to need some help with getting more food. My dad says that this winter will be a pretty harsh one."

"Okay sounds good!" the elder male made a toothy grin.

"We can pop by your den and pick you up for our hunts."

"No!"

The feathered hunters went quiet at the sudden outburst the featherless teen made. Realizing her mistake, Matilda quickly righted herself with a clearing of her throat to make herself more appropriate.

"No um...our den is a bit of a ways from here and we don't want to make you travel all the way just to come for us. How about we just meet here?"

"Hm...okay then," Aurora agreed, recovering from the shock from before, "Want to hunt again tomorrow? Like right before dark?"

"Sure!"

"Sounds like a plan."

And with that said, the two groups bid each other farewell and went about their separate ways. To the Twins, that was a close one, a little too close for comfort. They told each other they needed to be more careful the next time they were with them in regards to their origins. And Matilda once again scolded her brother for his mistake.

But other than their near slip-up, they enjoyed this night. For the first time, they now had other rexes to call friends. This was what they missed when they were younger. They did not have a normal childhood, but this new friendship makes up for it. They liked their new friends and did not want to mess up their new friendships.

They could only hope they do not discover the truth about their upbringing, or of their friends in the park.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

While the rexes were sneaking back to their enclosure for the night, a certain small predator was patiently, or rather _impatiently_ , waiting for his dinner. His dinner was supposed to arrive three hours ago; a nice, juicy, medium-sized pig. But nope, the humans were _really_ late.

Rascal had been resting on his hay bed, safely huddled inside the warming tent that kept him from freezing outside. He was not quite used to the change in temperature, but he did appreciate the warmth the manmade cave provided. That was one thing he appreciated about the humans; at least they're doing their best to keep him alive. And he was doing his best to tough it out.

Unfortunately, they were not doing so great with doing everything on time. With winter on the way, they were getting things done later by the day.

Right when he was about to drift off to sleep, he heard the familiar creaking of the enclosure gate. His head perked up and he walked out into the cold. His body shivered a little before he willed himself to stop.

He rolled his eyes when he saw two humans hauling in a pig carcass by the legs. Rascal barked angrily when they dropped it at his feet.

"Well it's about fricking time, you slowpokes! What they heck took you so long!?"

"Sorry!" said one of the humans, who was wearing a thick brown coat and had a warm hat covering his head and ears. "We got caught up in other things!"

"Yeah well you should have worked them out better! And faster! I was starving! What, you were trying to kill me by starving me to death!?"

"Put a sock in it, Rascal!" yelled the other human, a female wearing a black thick coat with a brown muffler covering most of her face. "We're here now!"

"Yeah? Well if I weren't shivering out here, I would have taken that sock and fed it to you...whatever that is," he pointed a talon at them.

"Pfft, yeah right!" argued the male human, "You don't have hands or opposable thumbs!"

Rascal angrily hissed, making them back away a few steps. "Just get out of here! I got a date with my meal that you made me late for!"

The woman was about to retort a comeback when her partner stopped her. A hushed conversation went between them that led to them quickly leaving the enclosure. When they finally exited his abode, he went about the one thing that should cheer him up for the night.

"Finally! Time for some dinner."

He was ready to sink his teeth into the warmed flesh of the dead mammal. Among all of the meat that the humans fed him, pork was one of his favorites. He always like it a little warm, though the cold weather was freezing it by the minute. This thing needed to be consumed now if he wanted to savor a warm meal.

Rascal was about to enjoy his pork a la carte when something interrupted him…again. What was it now? Another human? Couldn't they see he had a dinner date with a dead pig!?

No wait…something was off. He sniffed the air. The smells of the herbivores, the humans, the spice-woody scents of the trees, the faint scents of the dying ferns, and the noxious odors coming from the buildings were all over the place. But thanks to his keen sense of smell, he was able to pick up that one scent. It was not one of those things.

The past couple of times he went hunting with Espantos (times he wished he could off himself), he remembered the scent of blood from that one _Alaskocephale_. That familiar hint of metallic liquid was intoxicating.

The thing he smelled now was just that; blood. And it was also with something…familiar.

He heard a twig crunch. Rascal quickly turned his head to the right. What he saw took him off guard completely.

It was a small, slender, light blue predator with a gray face and orange eyes.

The creature about his size, just short a couple of inches. Like him, it had sharp talons at the end of its fingers and toes. Its hide was actually coated in a light blue feathered down, making it appear like a wingless bird, minus the beak. The small size had a benefit; light on their feet to make a speedy getaway or an ambush attack. The big eyes meant good eyesight, especially at night. In Rascal's mind, it was like he was staring at himself, if he had a different eye color and blue feathers.

Rascal leapt to his feet, went into a crouch and hissed at the intruder. The creature jumped back and got into a defensive position, baring its claws. How did this thing get passed the humans' defense system? Just where did it come from?

If there was one thing Rascal could think of that this one was after, it was after his food.

"Hey! Back off! This is my meal!" the orange _Troodon_ spat at the interloper.

The creature, clearly male judging from the deep grungy voice, replied quickly. "You…how did you do that?"

"Do what?" Rascal answered in his usual mafia accent.

The stranger only answered in stammers, which annoyed the Park's local nuisance even more. If there was one thing on Rascal's list he hated, it was not getting a straight answer.

"Talk 'Little Boy Blue'," he warned gravely, "or I'll come over there and bite your head off!"

"How did you command those creatures to obey you?" the blue hunter finally said.

Caught off guard by such a question, Rascal righted himself before he got into a confused daze about that. "Come again?"

"Those bipeds that were with you before; how did you get them to follow your command? They're not of your...OUR...kind. Yet you ordered them to hunt for you."

"Uh...I didn't really do much? Those guys are in charge of bringing me food, considering the little situation we're in. But they let me hunt also. Heh, but if you ask me, those guys are a bunch of idiotic slowpokes," said Rascal as he continued to stare down the stranger.

"So you got them to hunt for you by giving them orders?"

The troublemaker cackled almost sadistically. While that did make the blue one a little uncomfortable, he did not show any sign of it. "I wouldn't say I ordered them. They just know to give me food."

"Amazing!" went the now interested hunter. "Every creature in this valley bows to your every whim! You must tell me how you do it!"

Rascal lifted his claws up in a slow-down motion. "Whoa whoa whoa! Back up! Just who the heck are you?"

Right when he said that, the blue interloper became shamefaced. A frown appeared on his toothy maw and he shifted on his feet. A sigh escaped his throat before any other word came out. Just how formal was this guy?

"Forgive me. My manners have been incompetent as of late with this winter coming. My name is Patch. I'm the leader of my pack."

The spoiled predator snorted briskly in the cold air, almost coughing. "Pack? You mean there's more of you? Just what are you guys? I've never seen anyone else dressed up like a blue chicken before. Well, except for those feathered pests that fly over my head in this place every now and then."

Once again, the stranger just stared at him as if he had lost his mind. Rascal huffed; of course he wouldn't know what that was. Then again, he hasn't seen an actual LIVE chicken. The only ones he had seen were the already prepped ones that he would eat.

"Er, yes," he replied, even though he was a bit cautious on Rascal's language, "There are twelve of us. And that is an awfully strange question for a fellow _Troodon_ to ask one of their kind. Though I have never seen you before."

Rascal gawked. Did he just say what he thought he said? "Wait...you're..."

He did another take at this Patch fellow. They're almost the same size. They have a similar build, though Patch does look thinner than Rascal because he didn't have the privileges of living in Prehistoric Park. They both look light on their feet. They both have big eyes. And the biggest characteristic was that smell.

Rascal knew that smell. It was a little varied with a mix of conifer and herbivore, but there was a part of it that smelled just like him. Words could not describe this scent. He just knew it spelled "his kind".

"Okay…you got my attention," he said leery.

"So you've lived with these…things all your life?" Patch asked, referring to the humans. "And they've been serving you? Where is your pack?"

It was at that moment that Rascal understood. This guy seemed to have taken an interest in how he does things, like bossing those humans around. And he has a pack too. It had been so long since he was in a pack; years in fact. Before he accidentally went to Prehistoric Park, he was kicked out of his old one because they could not stand his antics. Well, mostly the alpha female of the pack, actually. She could not stand his charms. In other words, he tried to come onto her forcefully and she rebuked him…painfully. It took a long time for his wounds to heal up from that time.

If this guy became his thrall, or better yet, him and his pack, then he could have them attack anybody that annoyed him whenever he wanted. And he would have his own pack to be in!

It was a win-win situation! Rascal liked that.

Rascal shifted his footing and began his explanation in a most innocent tone. "Well, I wouldn't say all my life. They kind of just found me. And I don't have a pack."

Patch gasped, unnerving the orange Troodon greatly. "What!? You're a loner!?"

"Hey hey come on!" he retorted before resorting to a near whisper. "Not so loud. I don't want the humans to catch wind of us."

The blue speedster cocked an eye and responded in a whisper as well, but not before leaning in closer to the fence. "Humans?"

"Those guys you saw serving my food."

Rascal could tell that he was puzzled; the narrowing of the eyes, the opening and closing of his jaw like he was trying to say something, and then him giving in to the explanation. Patch then decided to change the topic rather than dwell on the topic more. "If you have no pack, then you must meet mine. We welcome anyone who can help us with getting more food. And perhaps figure out some way to hunt better with all of this game here."

The little nuisance stifled a wicked grin. This just kept getting better and better. With them under his thrall, he'll be able to get the run of this place in no time. Of course, he'll have to be careful with having this pack hunt in this valley. Hunting any human or Resident wouldn't bode well for anybody. But then there's the new herd here...

"Well if that's the case, take me to your pack."

Patch shook his head. "There's no need."

When he said that, the blue speedy predator quickly turned his head over at one of the nearby storage buildings. He barked three times in a row, as if he were one of the Velociraptors in the Jurassic Park movies. Rascal may have spent some time in the 21st century, but he knew that it was him doing a calling. His former leader did the same thing when he was still living in a pack.

When Patch finished, all was silent. Rascal waited for a response to it. Usually, when someone calls like that, they would answer back. There was none.

He was about to make a snide remark about him being a liar when he noticed three feathered heads peeking from behind one of the corners. Rascal gawked when he saw those three heads slowly come out of hiding to reveal other blue _Troodons_.

Soon, three became eight, and finally twelve. Patch was not kidding; twelve was a sizeable pack. And they were all blue, with a few differences. There were some with darker blue feathers and some lighter blues on some parts of their bodies. They were slenderer than the others who were light blue all over. Females, most likely. The light blue males also had light blue feathers like Patch, except they were ranging from lighter to darker hues. If Rascal had to guess, they were representing differing ages. When he took a closer look at Patch, he noted one feature that separated him from the rest of his pack; the white-tipped plumage on his arms that made him look like white wings. Perhaps it was a sign of his status as the leader.

Rascal watched as all of them slowly approached their leader and stood just before the fence that kept the Prehistoric Park nuisance inside. They inspected it in all manners; from sniffing it to tapping the barrier with their claws, all while whispering about the strange thing that kept this other _Troodon_ inside.

The spoiled mafia-predator was starting to feel a little uncomfortable with all the eyes staring at him. He wanted attention, but he wasn't used to attention where everyone was either inspecting him or admiring him. It was a little uncomfortable, but at the same time, it was…satisfying. Now they were looking at him as if he were some kind of guardian.

Then, one of them stepped up to Patch. It was a dark blue female with white tipped feathers going down her neck. Her red eyes locked onto Patch's orange ones before she craned her neck over his. The alpha of the pack did the same.

"Patch, is everything alright?" asked the female in a velvety tone like that of silk.

"Yes dear," he returned the gesture with some soft claw strokes on her back. "Everything is okay."

"This your girlfriend?" Rascal inquired at the embracing couple.

Patch nodded. "Her name is Eira. She's my mate."

The now named Eira smiled and did a combination of a nod and a bow. "Well met. Patch here has been keeping an eye on this valley ever since these newcomers came along. When he saw you, he was pretty curious. He wouldn't stop talking about how someone like us is living with all of these giants."

"Oh…fancy that," he whistled while trying to look away from the romance.

"Eira, our friend here has volunteered to help us. He's going to show us the ins and outs of this place. With his help, we'll be able to survive the winter," her mate said with confidence.

"Really?" she beamed. "Oh thank you…"

Eira stopped. She looked up and down at him with a look of confusion. "Uh…what is your name?"

Rascal smirked. This was going to be easier than he thought. His smile then turned into a conniving grin. "Call me Rascal."

 ** _A.N. Well that was interesting! First we've got the rexes getting along, the introduction of some rather interesting characters, and now Rascal has a few new buddies...along with some ulterior motives. So a couple of things about this chapter..._**

 ** _1) The Rex hunt was actually written by Marc first and the Twins' eating experience/hunt/Gorgon's conversation with Tundrous and Sitka were all by him._**

 ** _2) We kind of put in some characteristic differences with Patch and Eira just to differentiate them from their pack. And yes, we now Patch isn't the leader of a pack, but let's just say that he became one sometime after the events of March of the Dinosaurs._**

 ** _3) Gorgon is actually based off of a video game character. We're not saying who because that would be spoilers. We will say that this character is not from Nintendo._**

 ** _Other than that, we hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one :)_**


	22. That One Naruto Episode

AN: Hey everyone, this is Marc Ello here, and I just wanted to say I am SO sorry for the insane hiatus. I was in charge of this chapter and it kind of got away from me. So if you got any complaints for this update taking so long I'm taking full responsibility for this. But now that you're here, strap in people, we got some action for you!

Hazel was walking to the eastern part of the forest in the valley near Temporary Park. As she made her trek, her eyes were glued into a clipboard filled with the status of the various sections of the park. She wanted to make sure that all of the jobs in the Park were being handled efficiently. However, she was a bit irritated that the setting sun was impairing her reading a bit. She checked her phone and could only feel dread. It was barely three in the afternoon and dusk had nearly set in already. The days were getting shorter, while the nights continued to grow. Hazel knew it was only a matter of before the sun left the sky for the final time for winter.

The leader in training merely shook her head. It was no use thinking of "what if's." They were in this situation now and all she could do now was press on.

"Though I do know one person who won't continue being a member of my team." Hazel grumbled to herself, thinking of a certain lazy Rey engineer. At the thought of the so called "Team" she was forced to work with brought up more unpleasant thoughts of its other members. "Scratch that, I'm pretty sure that jerk Chris earned top billing for my irritation…"

Now that she thought about it, even her veterinarian Daisy was a bit difficult for the leader to get along with. Every time she tried to get the blonde to interact with her, Daisy would always find an excuse to get out of it.

Exhaling, Hazel forced herself to focus on the task at hand. Earlier that day while she was making her rounds, the little Microraptor Breezy glided in to relay a message to her. Apparently, Nero wanted to discuss something with her, and he wanted it to be in private. He wanted to talk to her in the morning, but she pushed back that meeting so she could handle the other tasks in the park. Nero didn't seem like he appreciated being cast aside, but he agreed, if only to insure he managed to impart what he wanted to say.

The foliage of the forest was still lush for the herbivores eat, but it was beginning to wilt for the continuing cold and steady lack of sun. The hardiest of the plants were pine and cedar trees, but those weren't really options for the Residents to eat since many of the Park's herbivores didn't evolve to eat such foreign plants. Hazel mused that they probably could try to eat the pines, but they wouldn't get too much nutrition from it.

Despite the encroaching winter, Hazel took a chance to momentarily enjoy her stroll.

Standing in a clearing, was the Herd's burly green Iguanodon who clearly looked irritated waiting for the fledgling leader. Seeing Hazel's approach, Nero huffed and strode up to meet the young woman halfway.

Crossing her arms, Hazel merely cocked a brow at the green dinosaur. "Okay Nero, what's this all about? You've never called me over for a private meeting before."

"I'm not one for such things, but given the situation we are all in, I wanted to touch base on a couple of matters," Nero answered with a huff.

"Alright, but be quick. One part of the western wall needs to be fixed and those workers need supervision." Hazel dismissively said as she distractively checked the time on her phone and several things on her clipboard.

"I'm sure they can handle your absence for a while," the ornithopod said, unamused.

He motions towards her to follow him to a nearby boulder. Hazel took the hint and made herself comfortable sitting on the rock. The young woman motioned for Nero to continue as she set aside her clipboard.

"This is in regard to the humans you put under my...tutelage."

Hazel arched her brow. "What's the situation on them?"

The dinosaur scoffed a bit. "They're whiny, spoiled, and feeble, but that is to be expected if someone of a different species is being trained by someone like me. But they have improved these passed weeks. They're stronger, faster, and cooperative."

This honestly surprised Hazel. Nero rarely ever complimented anyone. However, it could just be her. The young leader never did spend too much time with the stubborn Iguanodon to get to know him better.

"Oh, well that's good to hear," Hazel said, recovering from her initial surprise. "Now they'll be able to handle whatever comes their way in this time or in future missions."

Nero continued. "I want to gauge their abilities further. Training with me has its limits. They need to use their skills in the field. They can learn more that way. With their strengths, they can overcome each other's weaknesses. Perhaps there is some hope if they are to be a team."

"What are you planning?" Hazel asked, crossing her arms.

He took a few moments to contemplate his words before speaking up. "A test. Something that will push them to the limits. Humans aren't as fast as most of the others in the valley and certainly not as strong. However, from my time living with you humans and everyone else, they have potential to be more."

'And yet more compliments,' the girl sarcastically thought. 'Who are you and what have you done with Nero.'

"Okay. Well, what is this test about?" Hazel asked.

"That...I can't tell you," the ornithopod confessed. "Not yet, at least."

"What!? You're not going to-Nero!" The young leader shouted. "If you don't tell me what the test is, how can I assist in helping you prepare it?"

Nero dismissed her concerns. "I've already asked some humans to help in setting it up before you came here."

This outraged Hazel. "Without my permission? Nero, you do realize that as the park leader, everything the staff needs to do needs to go through me first. So why the hell did you talk to them and not to me first?"

"Because, there is something else I will ask of you," Nero coolly said, powering through the Asian girl's little tirade.

"And that is?"

"In this test, my trainees will be put into a team and must get to the goal." Nero started. "They will need to reach that goal if they are to succeed. But, they have no guidance on what sort of dangers they will be expecting."

He then narrowed his eyes at her. "This is where you come in."

The young leader was caught flatfooted at Nero's interest in her. "What?"

"I want you to participate in my test as their leader."

At this point, Hazel was gaping like a fish. "Are you kidding me!? Do you realize what you're saying? I'm the park leader! I have a lot to do! I'm a busy woman!"

"Quit your complaining! I will have none of that!" Nero roared, scowling at the woman's excuses. "Kron had to lead a whole herd in an unforgiving land regardless of what other things those around him saw as important. He had to train with Bruton so he could stay strong."

"Aladar had to put aside his own needs to help his friends, just like what he did when he helped you rescue that grey carnivore recently," the green ornithopod added, trying to appeal slightly to Hazel's familiarity of her friend. "He may not have a second in command like Kron, but he had those other underlings that would sometimes help him. You can do the same."

Hazel got up out of her stone seat and marched up to Nero's face. "I don't need training! I know how to take care of myself on missions. I've survived because I knew what to do. I know what to expect. I know how to defend myself."

Nero didn't give Hazel an inch.

"All the more reason why you should act as their leader," he retorted. "You've experienced much more than what they went through. If you are to be the leader of your park one day, then this will prove to be beneficial. Your experience will guarantee their success."

Hazel scoffed as she crossed her arms. "Why should I go through with this? You're not the boss of me!"

"If you don't, then they will see you as a failure of a leader," Nero curtly said. It was clear that the Iguanodon wasn't pulling his punches and was going for the throat. "They will see you as someone who is not fit for that title. Everyone will lose confidence in you and you will lose your support. You're the type that would not stand for anyone to be left behind; are you going back on your own word?"

Hazel was stunned by this. If she doesn't go through with this "test", then everyone is going to see that she's not really leader material. She'll lose the support of everyone and be seen as a disappointment, not just to her friends but to Nigel too.

Gritting her teeth, Hazel finally relented. "Ugh, fine! I'll go through with it. But can you at least tell me what the test is about?"

"No. You will find out for yourself in three days." Nero curtly replied. "I suggest you revisit some techniques you know of. You will have to give everything you've got if you are all going to pass. Their success all hinges on your success as a leader. It shouldn't be much of a problem given the history of your travels."

"Okay, fine. Whatever," Hazel scoffed as she began her trek back to Temporary Park.

Before she could leave their meeting place, Nero spoke up again.

"One last thing."

"What now?" The young woman asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Bring something to defend yourself with. You may need it in this test." Nero gently informed. Hazel eyes him with disdain and suspicion.

She thought about his words as she walked back to the park to get back to work. What was Nero planning? Why was he asking her to bring something to defend herself? Was she going to be fighting something? Or someone? Surely not those department heads or her sister. Maybe Nero assigned someone to spar against them? But that would be crazy!

She continued to mull about Nero's supposed test throughout the day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The T-rex Enclosure, at the same time…

"There you two go!" A keeper said as he and his team offloaded their shipment.

The Twins gathered to their feeding trough as their caretakers dumped the slabs of cow meat for their lunch; at least they think it's lunch time, it was kind of hard to tell now that the sun was setting when normally the sun was supposed to be high in the sky.

"Thanks guys!" Terrence cheered.

Matilda nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we were starving."

As they began to tear into their meal, they suddenly slowed to a halt than their usual rabid-like gusto. Normally, cow meat was Terrence and Matilda's favorite food; it was their first meal that Nigel gave them when he rescued them. However, now that they've had a taste of fresh meat, they couldn't help but compare the two. The somewhat tough and cold cow carcass didn't hold a candle to the warm, succulent, and bloody taste of a freshly killed animal. Plus, the heat of the cooling blood gave the Twins some relief from the biting cold of Alaska's winter.

Both Twins grimaced at the now subpar meal. Almost guiltily, Matilda spoke up.

"Um… is there any way you can heat this up for us?"

This caught the Keepers off guard.

"'Heat up'? You mean your meat?"

"Yeah, the meat," Terrence continued. "We just thought that since it's getting cold and stuff, we could use a warm meal. Or maybe at the very least some… warm blood… or something…"

Surprised, but somewhat understanding, one of the Keepers stepped up to answer the young Rexes.

"Well, with the whole energy problem, we can't use our ovens to make the Residents' meals hot, we have enough problems defrosting them as it is," said the female keeper. "As for the... ahem… blood… we don't have any blood to give you guys, sorry."

Terrence and Matilda sighed. They figured that the humans wouldn't be able to fulfil their request. This merely made them long for another meal with Aurora and her family. Mistaking the Twins' longing to meet their friend for disappointment, the Keepers promised to see if they can make their meals warmer when the winter sets further in.

As the Keepers went away complete their other duties, Terrence and Matilda counted the minutes until they could sneak off to spend time with Aurora's family and to regain even more of their roots.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Three days later, early in the morning…

"Alright maggots! FALL IN!"

At Nero's prompting, the five young men and women finished up their morning run and began to rest as they waited for further orders. The early morning's cool breeze was soothing for the group's aching muscle, even the slight mist rolling in offered much welcome relief. Chris Sinclair, Ellis Rey, Daisy White, and Hanna Veran were now familiar with Nero's training and were now seeing and feeling the positive results of their training. They were faster, stronger, and could last longer in any conflict. They would have thought this was just another typical training day if it wasn't for one new addition.

Wheezing off to the side was their apparent boss and "leader" of their group: Hazel Veran. Their usually "indominable leader" was currently looking a bit winded. While Hanna was worried about her sister, the other three employee rookies took a certain amount of satisfaction that their bossy leader was looking a bit worse for wear when compared to them. Hazel was fit from all her adventures, but with how foreign and intense the Rookies' training was (and the fact that Hazel hasn't been formally trained in this way), the young leader was a bit fatigued now.

"You feeling tired there, Veran? Did you miss your naptime?" Chris teased as he took deep controlling breaths, looking the least fatigued of his comrades. Hazel's response was a simple one finger salute as she slowly regained her composure. The older Keeper gave a hearty chuckle as he checked on the other Crew members.

Hazel and her group didn't know what to expect but they each had felt good about their chances; Hazel had a few years of real-world experience, while Chris, Ellis, Daisy, and Hanna had been diligently following their training regimen. As they all recovered, Nero approached the future leaders of Prehistoric Park.

"Now that you're all warmed up, follow me to your testing site." Nero barked.

As the young men and women followed Nero to the beginning of a glade which had numerous wooden hurdles in the distance, they stopped at a white chalk line that had a wooden crate off to the side, which the Crew figured that Nero made another Keeper prepare for him.

"Alright Maggots! Get out of your thin clothes and into the thick clothes I told you to bring." Nero ordered. Hazel and the others brought their change of clothes that was mostly standard winter gear that they had. They also brought a change of clothes for their workout clothes so that they could feel a bit fresher. Hazel, slipping on a fresh shirt and sweater, wandered over to Hanna.

"Hey there, Hanna. I hope you're doing well despite how things have been going," Hazel said. Despite her prompting, Hanna didn't respond and was looking off in a daze. Worried, Hazel poked her sister making her split her focus.

"Huh, oh yeah… I'm good or whatever…" Hanna distractedly said.

Hazel, curious, followed Hanna's gaze. "What are you—?"

The young leader cut herself off as surprise, disgust, and arousal oddly enough, swarmed her head at the sight she and her sister were seeing.

Chris Sinclair was in the middle of getting ready and changed his clothes as well. However, he apparently had no qualms about stripping his shirt out in the open. Underneath, the rookie keeper was extremely well built. His chiseled figure was physical proof that Chris took great care of himself thanks to a healthy lifestyle. Hazel could see on his enormous right bicep was a tattoo of the silhouette of an ox or bull oddly enough.

"Damn…" Hanna murmured under her breath. "You could cut diamonds with that six-pack…"

Hazel scowled. "As your sister, I forbid you from chasing after him."

"Aw man!"

"Hazel! Hanna!" Nero barked, snapping the sisters out of their flustered ogling. "If you two are done gawking at Sinclair's physicality, join the others at the starting line."

Both sisters flushed from embarrassment, and quickly rushed to get ready and meet the rest of their teammates. As the girls lined up, Hazel had the unfortunate privilege to be beside Chris Sinclair. Despite her gawking, she held no affection for the man, she was just a healthy young woman that could appreciate the opposite sex's figure. No amount of attractive muscles would make Chris likable in her opinion.

"Isn't it against Prehistoric Park policy to have tattoos?" Hazel casually asked to set her head straight.

Looking to his side, Chris just rolled his eyes.

"It's frowned upon if it's inappropriate, Veran. I hardly think Nigel is gonna fire me if he sees my Taurus tattoo," the Rookie Keeper commented, being cordial.

"That tattoo looks sweet!" Ellis, on the other side of Chris, interjected. "Why'd you get it? Any meaning behind it besides the obvious?"

For the first time, that Hazel has seen, Chris sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"It's just a tradition thing on my dad's side," the Keeper informed. "The Taurus is obviously my Celestial Sign. But eventually, whenever I meet someone I want to start a relationship with and marry, I'll get their Sign on my arm next to my Taurus. And if I have kids, I'll put their Signs in between mine and my hypothetical wife's Sign."

"Man, that's a lot of bodywork to plan out." Ellis commented.

"Well, you know, it's tradition." Chris said, then chuckled as he remembered something. "If you want to see a lot of bodywork, you should see my Lolo's tattoos. With how many kids he had, his entire right arm is covered." The Keeper sighed as he gave a slight smile. "But like I said, my arm is for my future love interest."

"My Sign is Aries!" Hanna excitedly spewed, trying and failing to not look interested.

Hazel just gave Hanna a glare to rein her enamored sister in.

"Chris pay attention!" Nero shouted. "And could you please stop explaining your courting rituals? Hazel and Hanna's pheromones are distracting enough as it is."

This gained a bug eye look from Chris. Meanwhile, Ellis and Daisy tried to suppress their snickers at the humiliation that the Veran sisters were going through. Having enough of being the butt of the joke, Hazel stepped forward.

"Okay Nero, we're here. What little games are you going to make us do?" Hazel snootily questioned.

Nero scowled. "Your challenges will test you all on your ability to survive in a few select scenarios. I will judge all of your performances against your impromptu teachers."

The Crew looked confused at that. "'Teachers'?"

Looking over the group's Nero smirked at the welcome sight.

"Excellent timing! You're all here." The prehistoric trainer called out.

Hazel and her companions turned around and were surprised. Coming out of the woods was the most peculiar group of Residents that the rookie team has ever seen. Blaine and his Dilophosaurus pack, Sabrina and her cubs, Espantos the Terror Bird, and Kerato the Elasmotheriumwere at the forefront of the strange gathering. Bringing up the rear was Aladar, Patchi and Alex in his head frill hole, Oddie the Plateosaurus, Bruno the Therizinosaurus, Ornith the Ornithomimus, and Charles, Woodstock, and Yinunexpectedly accompanied the others with a look of interest adorning their faces.

"Aladar, Patchi? What are you all doing here?" Hazel asked.

Before the young leader's friend could speak up, Nero coughed aloud and narrowed his eyes slightly. Aladar sighed and mouthed 'later, pay attention.'

Satisfied, Nero turned to the recently assembled training course and continued.

"As a team, you will all complete the course behind me." Nero started. "Your first challenge will be to navigate this open glade and make your way through the hurdles in your way; whether you want to go over, under, or around is your choice.

"Next, you will navigate the forest and follow the path to a series of human-made overhangs, canopies, and log bridges. There isn't one set way to cross this section, so navigate it at your own discretion.

"After you make it through the forest, you will reach another glade with a bell in the center of the field. You all must ring it to end the test."

"Why do we have so many watching our performance then?" Daisy gingerly asked.

Ellis continued off the Grecian. "Yeah, this seems like a bit much for the others to watch us reenact an episode of American Ninja Warriors."

Nero merely smirked. "They will be your opponents."

This caught the human group off guard.

"OUR OPPONENTS?!" The entire Crew shouted.

"That's insane!" Hanna shrieked.

"Oh my God! You really do want to kill us!" screamed a less than enthused Ellis.

The green Iguanodon rolled his eyes.

"Relax, not everyone here will participate in your training." Straightening up, Nero attempted to reassure them. "Blaine and his pack, Sabrina and the Cubs, Kerato, and Espantos will be your adversaries during your bout. Aladar, Patchi, Bruno, and the others will be scattered throughout the course off to the side to merely observe."

Hanna raised her hand like a student at school before speaking. "What purpose does each of the… um… 'Residents' here serve?"

"Aladar and the others observing have all managed large groups of followers and have plenty of experience to know what to look for to make your little human group work." Nero said, somewhat complimenting each of the fellow leaders within Prehistoric Park.

Hazel never considered the fact that Aladar and Patchi weren't the only ones to manage a herd. Ornith and Oddie managed two of the largest herds before Aladar's herd came to live in Prehistoric Park. The Sauropods present were very wise and led their groups with experience that they could have only achieved through their hard work. Even Bruno probably had some sage advice to impart,even if it was probably just 'how much violence to apply to a situation'. The young leader felt like kicking herself for not considering to ask the older Resident leaders for advice in the past; she'll have to rectify that later on.

Nero continued his lecture.

"Blaine and his pack, Sabrina's group, and your other opponents will be given the task to 'hunt you down' and prevent you from completing your goal." Nero said, his voice implying his air-quotes.

"This doesn't change the fact that we have no hope in hell against them," Chris griped.

"And you are right. When it comes to the weakest species of all time, you humans are as feeble as they come." Nero admitted. He then nudged the wooden crate with his right foreleg. "Which is why you will be given a handicap to give you humans a sporting chance."

"In this box-thing are your weapons and red and white human flags." Nero continued to explain. "Gather your belongings, along with four white flags and one red flag each."

Each of Hazel's new group went in to collect their weaponry and the aforementioned flags. The weapons Hazel saw were what she expected, a couple of electric stun-guns for Chris and Ellis, her sister and her quiver and bow, even a knife or two. What caught her eye was Daisy quickly snatching up an odd compact black rod about the size of a flashlight. Hazel was surprised the vet had a weapon at all, considering the blonde Athenian was just a vet. The young leader just shrugged and dismissed it, chalking it up as some sort of medical device that she didn't see properly.

"These flags will be affixed onto you," Nero announced as soon as the Crew reassembled on the start line. "The whites will be tied to each of your limbs, while the red is affixed to your necks. These will represent your so called 'lives' during your training. Don't worry about broken legs or accidental strangulation, the Human Keepers that helped me set this up told me that the flags will tear at the slightest amount of force. The hunters will only be allowed to snatch up these flags. If the hunters snatch up a white flag, you will have several more chances to continue. However, if they snatch all four flags before you reach the end, you will be 'dead'. If the hunters manage to take the red flag around your neck, you will be automatically 'dead'regardless if you have any white flags left. I will say again, the only way for you all to complete this test is for you all to ring the bell at the end of the course."

This lengthy rule explanation put the rookie group on edge. While they were relieved that Nero considered giving them a handicap, they were still competing against insanely stronger animals that humans couldn't hope in competing against.

"I will release a hunter group throughout this test, and fortunately for you, they won't be released all at the same time. Your job, humans, is to evade, fight, or flee from the hunters." Nero then smirked. "To make sure you are all properly motivated, the winners who complete this course will be exempt from further training for this week, and depending on how the judges grade your performance, you will 'graduate' from training and will no longer need to train while we are here."

This excited Hazel and her companions. A chance to get a week to relax sounded like a dream. And another chance to actually graduate and be done with the proverbial boot camp from hell was even more than they could ask for.

However, this was when Nero decided to rain on their parade.

"However, if you do not complete this course and receive a poor grade from the other leaders observing, you will remain under my tutelage for the rest of the winter, with the added bonus of intensifying your training AND having Sarge as my co-teacher."

This put a damper on everyone's moods. Nero worked Chris and the others like dogs. Having a tougher training session was not something they wanted to do. HavingSarge as a co-drill instructor was worse. The crimson Pachirhinosaurus was in charge of the grueling training of almost all of Aladar's warriors. Having him train them would probably figuratively AND literally kill them.

However, Hazel was not worried in the slightest. She was confident in her victory of Nero's little test. And despite having mixed feeling about her future group that she'll be leading, she wasn't about to let them suffer (with maybe the exception of Chris). She'll have to get in a good word to ease up on the Rookies' training to Nero later.

This little training session excited the Crew's opponents as well. With how dull things have been lately, many of the Residents had a lot of free time that they didn't know what to with. The chance to do something physical was a rare opportunity for them to indulge in.

"Hope you younglings aren't too attached to that outer wear stuff! Me and my Pack are gonna tear you guys to shreds!" Blaine crowed, his small pack adding their own jeers and insults.

Sabrina walked forward to the group of humans with a small smile.

"Don't worry Little Cubs. This will also be a small test for Tai and Sable to overcome." The Ice Age Huntress informed. "We're working on grapples and pins right now, but I'll intervene before you children get seriously mauled to death."

The way Sabrina casually mentioned their potential bodily harm wasn't comforting to them at all.

"Whatever. When am I gonna trample these brats?" The enormous Elasmotherium grunted.

"Unfortunately for you Kerato, you cannot directly harm them since you don't have a dexterous way of removing their flags." Nero responded. Before the Ice Age rhino could kick up a fuss, Nero interrupted. "However, if you destroy the obstacles that the humans are on or next to and they aren't nimble enough to evade… well, that seems like it's their problem, doesn't it?"

The shaggy haired mammal took a moment to process the new information he was given. He then savagely grinned as he gave a nod in understanding.

Before anyone could voice their concerns about facing a 5-ton behemoth, a certain Terror Bird spoke up.

"Excuse me Mr. Knee Rows! I have no idea what we're doing." The bubbly bird shouted.

Everyone groaned or scowled, not having the energy to deal with the scatterbrained Phorusrhacos. Nero however, had an uncharacteristic smirk on his face.

"It's a game Espantos. You'll be 'chasing games'."

"'Chasing games'?" The yellow and black avian asked, cocking his head. "What kind of games?"

"You'll be chasing the best kind of game." Nero said with a devious smirk. "Take the humans' scarves and you win."

The Phorusrhacos was surprised, and for the first time, the Crew was the first to be caught under the scrutinizing, unblinking gaze of a now interested hyper-carnivore. It was off-putting to the Crew that the usually childish Terror Bird was now observing each of them like pieces of meat.

"Okay mister Nero…" Espantos said in a near whisper, all zaniness gone. All was left was the cold calculating carnivore.

Nero nodded and turned back to the human group.

"Now that things are settled, HUMANS! Get to your starting positions!"

At Nero's command, Hazel and the others got into running position after the green Iguanodon ushered the other prehistoric leaders into the training course with Oddie, Ornith, and Yin off to the side of the glade to observe the Crew's progress.

Hazel was doing slight stretches with her legs and armsbefore she got ready at the start line. Glancing to her right,she saw that Chris was already in a sprinter's ready position. The Keeper's form was very professional looking and Hazel could probably mistake him for a track star if she didn't know how annoying he was. Sensing eyes on him, Chris caught Hazel gaze and gave a cocky smirk.

"You sure you can keep up with us Veran?" The older Keeper snarked. "You have been lazing about barking orders to the other employees, do you even remember to keep yourself in shape?"

This earned the man a scoff.

"I have more skill in my pinky in survival than you have in your entire body, Sinclair."

Instead of discouraging the older man, Chris chuckled.

"Whatever you say, 'Little Girl'," Sinclair mocked, making Hazel scowl.

"Cadets, on your mark!" Nero barked.

Each of the rookies tensed in anticipation.

"Get set!" the Iguanodon continued.

Hazel was confident of her potential.

"GO!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nero watched as each of the young humans bolted off. While they were not nearly as agile as any wild species, the Rookie humans he trained showed noticeable improvements. If he had to choose a preferred human that he trained, he would have put stock into Chris. It had been only a few scant weeks and already he was giving Hazel, a youngling that had a few years of survival experience, some difficulties, at least in the physical sense.

As he observed their progress, he rhythmically pawed his right hoof on the ground. It was a tick that he developed during his life, but right now it was helping him keep track of time as he gave the fledgling human group the head startthey deserve. At the moment, he was at tap 15.

Kerato plodded up to the green Iguanodon.

"Green-Guy, what's the hold up? We runnin' those brats down or what?" The shaggy haired rhino grunted.

"Patience Kerato… all of you will get a turn. Just not all at once." He then glanced to his side at the burly mammal. "Besides, prolonging their tortur—I mean training would be more entertaining for you all."

As he made 30 taps, Nero swiftly turned to Sabrina and her young.

"Go now!"

Sabrina merely nodded and prodded her children, making them sprint off, with the older Huntress in their wake.

Nero resumed his tapping.

Surprisingly, it was a yellow and black feathered Terror Bird that screeched out in irritation.

"Come on… Come on! Let me at 'em! Let me run… Let me RUN!"

"Not just yet Espantos…" Nero replied, his taps hitting the 15 mark again.

XXXXXXXXXX

The Rookie team was doing well, all things considered. Chris and Hazel were leading the pack, one being the most fit of the group and the other having personal experience adventuring; neither one was willing to give the top position to the other as they near-professionally leaped over the wooden hurdles before them. Following the two at a considerable distance away was Hanna, who was the third most athletic person at the moment. However, her bow and quiver made it a bit awkward to run since they were both slung behind her back. She also was able to clear some of the wooden barricades, but was ducking under them more often than not; she excelled in Olympic archery, not track and field. Ellis and Daisy brought up the rear, seeming to be struggling the most, the engineer edging out better than the rookie vet. Both of the inexperienced rookies mostly ducked under or ran around the wooden hurdles, which made them eat up more of their precious time and increase the widening gap between the three athletic members of their group and themselves.

"Come on Veran, keep up with me!" Chris taunted cockilyas he effortlessly vaulted over yet another obstacle.

"Shut up muscle-head! I'm just letting you this close to first place." Hazel sassed back while she ducked under a seemingly higher wooden hurdle.

While she wasn't freakishly tall like Sinclair, her small size made it easier to duck and weave through the obstacles thanks to her agility. Chris' towering size may have made his strides bigger than hers, but he seemed to be tiring quicker thanks to his large size he had to compensate for.

As the two older keepers were firmly against the other, the others couldn't help but feel like the older Veran and Sinclair formed a competitive rivalry during the start of their test; only time would tell if this was a positive or negative aspect of their relationship.

With how far ahead Hazel, Chris, and Hanna were, Ellisand Daisy chose at the very least to try to last long enough to cross the finish line. Even though Ellis could have picked up the pace a bit, the young engineer figured running in step with the blonde Athenian would help him preserve his stamina than to go all out and exhaust himselfprematurely.

"You doing alright Daisy?" Ellis managed to wheeze out as he continued his sprint.

"Eímai entáxei… (I am alright…)" Daisy huffed as she tried to better her form in running.

"I'm going to assume that means 'okay'," the engineer playfully answered.

Before the two could trade anymore banter, they could hear the rapid footfall of something. Daisy turned to the noise, but she was then violently tackled off her feet. The Grecian practically flew several feet and was sent sprawling. Quickly assessing herself, Daisy was simply amazed that the heavy hit didn't break any of her bones. Before she could get her bearings and recover, her left arm and leg jerked violently off to the side, nearly popping her joints out of their sockets. This sudden pull ripped a scream of pain from the young vet. She looked up from her prone position and sees the twin Saber Cubs latching onto her sleeve and pants leg in a vice; not too dissimilar to how German Shepard's take down criminals in K9 Units.

Through the pain and violent mauling, calmly slinking the perimeter of the conflict of the cubs was Sabrina, who let off a relaxed chuckle.

"Little Cubs, make sure you hold down your prey. Restrain all of those limbs," the Smilodon Huntress cooed silkily. She then gazed at young Daisy, almost as if she were remembering the young human was the test dummy in this exercise. "Daisy, you may want to try to defend yourself. Don't be shy, use as much force as you want. We can take it."

Easier said than done.

The blonde Athenian fought through the pain and shot out a fist to the snout of who she assumed was Tai's face. Although she put as much strength as she could, it merely stunned the young male cub who still had his teeth on her sleeve in a vice. After several strikes, Tai was forced to let go, but not without tearing off a portion of her thick coat sleeve. Daisy followed this up with swift kick to her left, knocking off Sable who winced and put a paw on her nose in pain. Daisy was so going to have to patch that wound uplater. She was able to get on her feet, but winced in pain now that she realized that Sable managed to accidently twist her ankle.

"I'm going to have to patch myself up as well," Daisy thought depressively.

Limping away from the trio of Saber Cats, Daisy immediately fumbled in her hip-pack until she pulled out her flashlight-sized device and held it out in front of her as if it were supposed to protect her.

"Meínoun píso (Stay back!)! I-I do not want to hurt you…" The Grecian girl shakily warned. She turned behind her to her retreating comrades, who unfortunately didn't notice her absence. "GUYS! Please help me!"

Being the furthest back, Ellis was naturally the one to hear Daisy's cries for help first. One glance was all he needed to tell that the Rookie Veterinarian was in trouble.

"Anak ka nang puta! (Son of a b****!)" Filipino engineer cursed as he grounded to a halt and ran back to help his distressed friend. He quickly pulled out a radio as he sprinted toward the danger.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You guys! Daisy's getting attacked back here! WE NEED BACKUP!"

The crackling of the radio caused Hanna to skid to a stop as she looked back to see Ellis sprinting back to save the young blonde. It would have been heroic in most cases, but this was a 20-year old man up against three muscular carnivores. The end result was clear as crystal. Before the younger Veran could come up with something, Hanna got assistance from the last person she would have expected.

"Veran-lite, where the hell is Rey and White!?" Chris barked as he ran up to join her.

"They're getting attacked by Sabrina's group." Hanna simply summarized. Looking behind the older man, the young archer frowned. "Where's Hazel?"

The rookie keeper scoffed. "Our 'fearless leader' probably left her radio with her other clothes. I would have missed it too if I didn't forget to leave my walkie on. She ran off into the forest without a second thought."

The young girl frowned slightly. All her life, Hanna knew Hazel was one of the most selfless people she had ever known. Her sister abandoning others, unintentional or not, was inconceivable.

Chris scowled as he prompted Hanna along.

"Come on, lets pull their asses out of the fire," the Keeper said. "I hope you're Katniss-levels of good with that bow Hanna."

"MY NAME'S—Wait, you said name?" The Veran sibling asked flabbergasted.

"Let's go brat, this is no time for arcs!" Sinclair snarked.

The duo rushed forth to a safe distance away from the three hunters that were harassing their engineer and veterinarian friend. Chris unslung his electro-shotgun and took aim as he gave Hanna a side glance.

"Hanna, we're going to give Ellis covering fire while he gets Daisy out of there. Judging by the way she's favoring her left side, she must have twisted her ankle during the attack. As soon as we group up, I want you to lead us into the forest and keep your distance from the hunters while you snipe as much as you can. Ellis and Daisy will be in the middle, while I'll bring up the rear with my electro-shotgun. We'll have more cover in the forest to lose them."

Hanna nodded as she notched a blunted arrow. Even though Sinclair was abrasive most times, his on the fly plan made a lot of sense and sent a surge of confidence through her.

Both Keeper and young teenage readied their weapons to help assist their comrades.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daisy was at her wits end as the three Saber Cats stalked closer. She was a vet for Apollo's sake! Since her animal patients could talk back, does that mean she has to follow the "Do no harm" rule that doctors followed? She had no idea. But right now, her "patients" were probably going to maul her to death. Tai was the first to break the standstill and pounced at the blonde Athenian.

Before she could pull the trigger on her device, her savior saved her in the nick of time.

"Back off Fang-face!" Ellis shouted as he shoved his foot into the young airborne Smilodon and made him fly off course.

Tai yelped as he held his nose in pain. "OW! My nose!"

"Ellis! You came back! Efcharistó (Thank you)!" Daisy cheered.

The Engineer glanced to his side as he aimed his weapon at the two other cats. "Can you walk?"

She put some weight on her left side and winced slightly.

"Just barely…"

"Alright, glass half full, at least you still have your leg," the younger Rey quipped. "Just retreat as best you can, I've got my eye on them."

Sable and Sabrina were ready to pounce, but Sabrina faltered at the last second and backed off. Sable, still in motion, yelped and leaped back when a series of electrified shells and arrows flew into the ground in front of her. Daisy and Ellis looked back and were relieved to see Chris and Hanna giving covering fire for them to retreat safely. Both engineer and veterinarian stumbled to safety, Sabrina and the Cubs followed suit; keeping close to be a threat, but not close enough to be easy targets for Hanna and Chris' ranged weapons. Tai and Sable yipped and yowled as they tried to edge forward to attack, but one sharp snarl from Sabrina kept them in check and at her flanks.

Right now, the older Smilodon Huntress was racking her brain on how to get her "prey" away from the safety of their long-ranged protectors. Her ears perked up at a steadily growing sound that made her face split into a grin.

"Kids, back off now!" Sabrina ordered, which the Cubs followed, much to their confusion.

This perplexed the retreating humans, until they heard the rushing sound of rapidly parting grass. Ellis only had a split second to assess and comprehend what was happening until one word escaped his mouth.

"Crap…"

The next second, Ellis was violently knocked to the side and his gun ripped out of his hands. The engineer had enough wits about him to throw his arms up in front of his face. This proved to be the correct decision because two sharp maws of teeth latched onto his forearms. Ellis patted himself on the back in reinforcing his sleeves and pant legs in thicker leather (the engineer planned it for an eventual zombie apocalypse plan, but it worked for dino-attacks as well), but it didn't stop the crushing force of the bite of the carnivores. The dinosaurs currently mauling Ellis like a chew toy were two members of Blaine's Dilophosauruspack. Nero apparently gave his group the green light since they caught up and tackled the engineer to the ground.

"Agh! Damn it!" Ellis screamed as he struggled to hold at bay two Dilophosaurs, Lyssa and Rae apparently. "I thought Dilos were the size of dogs! You guys are the size of freaking horses!"

"Who in the world told you that nonsense," Spurlock, Blaine's second in command, drawled. "And the frigging heck is a dog?"

"Or a horse?" went Rae.

Ellis just scowled. "DAMN YOU MICHAEL CRICHTON! DAMN YOU JURASSIC PARK MOVIES!"

"Ellis!" Daisy yelled.

Before she could try to help him, Sabrina took this chance to leap onto her back and force the vet onto the ground face first. Before the Athenian could think of trying to defend herself, Tai and Sable pressed the paws onto her sprawled out arms, keeping the Grecian thoroughly pinned.

Sabrina leaned down to Daisy's ear and whispered. "Be mindful of your surrounding Little Cub."

The Smilodon Huntress then proceeded to gingerly tug and pull off the red flag tied around Daisy's neck. Disappointed, the blonde Athenian sighed and slumped further into the dirt.

Chris scowled. Not even 70-yards from the starting point and they were already losing people to the "Hunters". The rookie keeper snapped his gaze to Hanna, who was still unloading arrows in the direction of their fallen comrades.

"Hanna, cover me! I'm going to get Rey out of there!" Chris shouted as he edged forward to save the rookie engineer.

"No! Stay back Boss!" Ellis screamed as he tried to kick away Lyssa, with little success. "Daisy's out already and I'm not going anywhere without having my flags pulled." Lyssa and Rae were about to leave and attack with their pack, but Ellis awkwardly managed to grapple Rae's muzzle with is arms and Lyssa's muzzle locked with his legs; both wrapped around their crests to make it more difficult pull free. "Don't worry about us, we got'em! You and Hanna go on ahead!"

Ellis' hold was broken when one of the Dilophosaurs, Duane, planted his clawed foot into the Engineer's gut and practically stomped him into the ground, forcing the air out of his lungs and his grapple hold on the female hunters to loosen. Spurlock and Blaine just smirked at the development before focusing in on Hanna and Chris.

Gritting his teeth, Chris lowered his gun.

"Come on Hanna. We gotta go!" The keeper ordered. "We can't let Ellis' sacrifice go in vain."

Clearly not wanting to abandon Ellis and Daisy, Hanna forced herself to nod and agree, even if her heart didn't want to.

"Okay, I'll lead the way. Cover our retreat into the forest." The young archer relented.

Both Rookie Keeper and stowaway darted into the forest, leaving behind a defeated veterinarian and engineer in the process of losing all his flag.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few moments earlier…

Oddie, Ornith, and Yin were impressed with the humans'performance. Obviously, they weren't comparable to the weakest of their respective herds, but they seem to be at the peak of what humans had to offer. Hazel was at the head of the pack, but with Chris nipping at her heels. Hanna showed promise as well. She was younger than the others, but that could be easily rectified with future experience. Daisy and Ellis lagging behind proved that there was room for improvement in their stamina.

The trial got exciting when Sabrina's group and Blaine's pack caught up and swiftly subdued the vet and engineer. They admired that Hanna and Chris were willing to fall back and assist, but understood that their choice to retreat was their only option. The leaders knew from experience that sometimes the best thing to do for the group you're leading is to run and save as many as you can. However, the one thing they found troubling in the rescue was Hazel; or rather her distinct lack of involvement in said rescue. When Daisy cried for help, Ellis came to her aid. When Ellis called for backup, Hanna and Chris were swift in their response.

Hazel was absent.

She just kept running, and not looking back. Oddie, Ornith, and Yin didn't even think that Hazel realized that the others needed help. This sent a wave of displeasure throughout the first group of judges as they proceed into the forest after Chris and Hanna's hasty retreat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"GO!"

With a roar, Kerato took off with all the grace of a runaway train. Although his starting speed was slow, the Elasmotherium's momentum increased until he was going at an insanely fast clip for a creature his size. The wooden hurdles didn't even slow the mammal down as he proceeded to plow right through them. Nero quirked a brow when the burly Ice Age rhino faltered a bit when he saw his feeble charge Daisy pinned beneath Sabrina's paws. It surprised him when the 5-ton beast deliberately deviated from his single-minded charge to sideswipe the Smilodon Huntress off the human youngling. Sabrina wasnimble enough to turn with the hit to minimize the damage, but the Saber Cat got the message to back off. Nero just shook his head.

Kerato wasn't as hardhearted as he wanted others to believe.

With the Elasmotherium charging into the tree-line, Nero was left with an unexpectedly irritated avian.

"RAH! Come on! Let me run!" Espantos warbled, impatiently pacing back and forth. Nero wasn't expecting such viciousness from the normally childish bird. Nevertheless, the green ornithopod was worried that the Terror Bird would wind up attacking him if he delayed the yellow bird's hunt any longer.

"Espantos…" Nero started evenly. The Terror Bird's eyes snapped in the Iguanodon's direction, his intense gaze seemingly burning a hole into Nero's head. With a nod, the green dinosaur said one word.

"Go—!"

Before Nero could get the whole word out, Espantos cut through the field like bullet. In just over a minute, the Terror Bird sprinted past the Smilodon and Dilophosaurusgroups and straight into the forest. The Iguanodon just chuckled. He almost felt sorry for his trainees.

Almost…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It took a few minutes, but Chris and Hanna managed to make up their lost time and were back in the running, with Hazel having a considerable lead. The scaling of the manmade overhangs, canopies, and log bridges was bit precarious since many of the structures didn't seem to hold the weight of three people very well. What didn't help matters was the extremely thick fog that blanketed the forest obstacle course. Hanna nearly ran and fell off one of the log bridges because she could barely see five feet in front of her. Chris, who was behind her, luckily snagged her arms and swung her behind him. That was the third time Chris saved her from nearly taking a swan dive off the course.

"I'm going to have to make it up to him later," the teen archer muttered under her breath.

"Hanna, eyes up! We have a rope swing up ahead," Chris informed.

True to his word, a single rope was the only way to get to the other overhang. The only reason the archer could see the darn thing in the fog was because her sister was already dismounting from her expert swing across the divide. It would take time if both herself and Chris had to swing across.

"Hanna, are you under 150 lbs.?" Chris questioned while the two of them were nearing the still swinging rope.

"W-WHAT?!" Hanna gaped, caught off guard and a little insulted about discussing her weight with a boy. "I am clearly not 150. I'm a respectable 118 lbs.!"

"I can work with that," Chris commented.

Without warning, the older man scooped up and slung a very surprised Hanna onto his back. Chris then began sprinting with earnest straight for the rope swing.

"You better hang on like a vice, Veran-lite!" the rookie keeper barked. "Because I'm gonna do something nuts!"

Hanna only needed a second to realize what was happening.

"Wait! Nonononono—!"

With a herculean leap, a focused Rookie Keeper and a shrill shrieking archer flew through the air. In the span of a few moments, Chris managed to grab hold of the rope, generate enough momentum for a strong swing, and dismounted into the three-point stance of the famous/infamous "SuperheroLanding".

"FF—Ow…" Chris whimpered. "Yup… Deadpool wasn't kidding about the knees…"

"Are you okay?" Hanna worriedly asked after she got off of the rookie keeper's impromptu piggyback ride.

With a nod, Chris slowly but surely got back on his feet.

"Yeah, I can walk it off," the older man said as he carefully shook off the pain in his joints. "Though, I know this little stunt won't do me any favors later on in life."

Taking a few breaths, the duo resumed their run. However, they didn't get too far as they heard multiple crashes coming from behind them. The fog obscured almost everything, but all Hanna and Chris could see was a daunting monolith of keratin charging its way towards them. Both archer and keeper tried to run, but the towering horn came crashing down on their log bridge. Terror gripped the teen archer as the bridge beneath her feet was obliterated, causing her to fall.

This lasted only for a second as she was immediately halted in midair.

Looking up, she saw that Chris managed to grip the strap of her arrow quiver; now he was struggling to pull her up with a single hand. With shaking arms, he slowly pulled the dangling girl against gravity.

"Y-You know, I think you were lying…" Chris grunted out as he neared the apex of his flex. "You are definitely a little more than 118 lbs…"

Hanna gave him a scowl. "If you weren't saving me, I would have totally slapped you."

"I almost got you up. Slap me then kid."

Their little back and forth was interrupted by the still present Ice Age mammal.

"Yeah, enough banter. You brats are gonna fall."

With another strike of his 7-ft horn, Kerato managed to shatter the remainder of the duo's wood platform. This caused the two trainees to fall and harshly crash to the ground. Chris chose at the last second to curl around Hanna to absorb the blow and cushion the young woman's fall.

This left them face to face with the imposing shaggy haired Elasmotherium.

Hanna was quick to act as she scrambled to her feet and nocked back an arrow aimed at the Ice Age Mammal. Kerato just gave her weapon a once over before scoffing.

"I've taken multiple spears from a group of Ice Age hunters before killing their hunting party." Kerato casually informed. "You better have a heck of a lot more than those toothpicks if you want to attack me…"

This put the winds out of Hanna's sails. She only contemplated a moment before lowering her bow, resigning to her fate. The Elasmotherium snorted before he padded off, leaving behind a confused archer.

"Luckily for you two, I can't hunt you down." Kerato grunted. "Scrape up your friend and get going. I have your older sister to knock down a few pegs."

Kerato sniffed at the air a moment before galloping off into the fog. The only telltale sign that the rhino found his quarry was the crashing of more wooden overhangs and the shrill screams of what Hanna could only assume was Hazel. Shaking her head, Hanna went over to Chris to haul him to his feet.

"Come on Chris, let's get you— AH!"

The archer yelped as she stumbled forward. The archerwas now calmed down enough to not have massive amounts of adrenaline coursing through her body. Looking over her right leg, Hanna realized that her fall didn't leave her as unscathed as she would like as she spotted a sizable scrape and woodchip the size of two of her fingers lodged directly into her calf. In morbid fascination, Hanna prodded the wood shrapnel piece, only to be rewarded with a sharp pain shooting up her leg.

Having enough time to recover, Chris recomposed himself and assessed the young woman's wounds.

"Okay Hanna, this doesn't look too bad." Chris reassured.

"I have a freaking stick lodged into my leg!" Hanna panicky retorted.

The Keeper scoffed. "When you break your arm and have the bone sticking out of your skin, then you can complain to me."

Chris shoved the end of his red scarf into the girl's mouth.

"This'll help you through the pain," the Keeper informed at the teen's questioning look. He grasped the wood shard braced his other hand on the girl's leg. "Ok, on the count of three."

*RIP!*

Hanna shrieked at the sudden pain, her swears muffled from behind her makeshift gag. The archer's teary eyes glared accusations at the older man. Chris largely ignored it.

"… Three," Chris said with a small smirk. He then tore his sleeve off and wrapped it around Hanna's leg as a makeshift bandage. The Keeper then slung her arm around his shoulders and was dragging her along Kerato's path of destruction.

"Okay, if "Shaggy" was following your sister, then this direction should be where the finish line is," Chris rationalized.

As the two shambled through the forest, the fog just persisted and thickened, making their line of sight even harder to see. Before Chris could reassure Hanna and distract her from her pain, they heard something calling out in the mist.

"One, Two, I'm coming for you.

Three, Four, Run some more.

Five, Six, Better run quick.

Seven, Eight, It's way too late.

Nine, Ten, You'll soon be dead…"

Chris and Hanna were on edge at what they could assume was Espantos singing in the fog. Hs childishness was usually viewed as an annoyance. Now, it was the most terrifying thing the two has heard. If Chris wasn't in this situation, he would have related it to the scary child character in most horror movies. Hanna unslung her arm from Chris' shoulders as the duo armed themselves with their respective weapons. Back to back, the young man and woman aimed their weapons into the thick fog for any source of movement. They couldn't see a thing.

All the two could hear were sudden bursts of movement from the mist and maniacal laughter from the intimidating Terror Bird. It wasn't coming from one place either; the Phorusrhacos seemed to be sprinting around Chris and Hanna's position, circling them like a shark corralling fish.

"Where is he? I can't see him!" Hanna whispered behindher.

"Stay calm, this is a hunting tactic used by predators to unsettle prey."

"But we're not prey!" the archer harshly whispered.

Chris rolled his eyes. "Well right now, a South American hyper carnivore wants to kick our teeth in and use our skulls as a soup bowl."

Hanna grimaced. "That's… certainly an image…"

"Never underestimate a motivated predator," Chris informed.

They tried to narrow in on where Espantos could be, but they couldn't find him. However, just as they had gotten used to the incessant noises and footfalls, it all suddenly stopped. A few beats later, Chris lowered his rifle while Hanna lowered her bow. The keeper made a few gestures with his hands, but the archer got the gist: "Stay quiet and follow me".

Hanna inched forward, but was caught off guard by the footfalls again. This time, she was sideswiped; the Terror Bird ripped off a portion of the poor girl's sleeve. Hanna stumble, but she recovered and tried to shoot after Espantos' retreating form; she missed. Swearing, Hanna nocked another arrow, but Espantos sprinted straight toward her. The Olympic teen archer shot three arrows, but thanks to the Phorusrhacos' agility, Espantos was able close the 30-yard distance while weaving through the girl's expert shots. Hanna was notching another arrow when Espantos chose to strike.

The Terror Bird took a leap foot first past Hanna and through a seemingly impossible move, hooked his right talon onto Hanna's bow. The momentum brought his foot to the ground. With Hanna's grip on the bow so tight, the young Asian girl was pulled right along with her bow directly to the ground. Before Hanna could recover, a clawed foot swiftly planted itself into the girl's gut. This knocked the air right out of her and sent her sprawling a few feet. The Phorusrhacos kicked the girl's bow out of her reach and slowly approached his downed prey.

"I usually don't enjoy toying with my meat, but I think I'll make an exception just this once," Espantos said calmer than he's ever sounded in his life. His taloned foot flipped Hanna onto her back as he held her down. "However, I've grown bored. So I'm going to finish this fight."

With a screech, the Terror Bird brought down his beak with such speed towards Hanna's neck. With how real this whole "training course" was, Hanna wasn't sure if the hyper carnivore was still just a teacher or really attacking her; so the archer took matters into her own hands.

With speed she didn't know she had, Hanna grabbed a bundle of arrows from her quiver and lodged the shafts directly into Espantos' beak, making a makeshift horse's bit. Surprised that his prey had such fight left within her, the Terror Bird tried to bite around the handful of arrows, but to no avail; Hanna wedged it so deep into his beak that he was having trouble closing it. His strength pushing down at the girl was interestingly being kept at bay from her hysteric strength at the moment, but Espantos was smarter than he lets on; at least for the moment. Instead of pushing down with the force of his sledgehammer head, Espantos' beak clenched down on the arrows and he began to pull. Hanna's grip, while impressive, was still only human levels. Practically nothing when compared to a strong 300-pound avian.

With Hanna's arrows being ripped from her grip and thrown to the side Espantos tried again to snatch up the red flag around her neck. However he was interrupted again!

"Back off 'Feather duster'!"

Espantos was caught off guard when a sudden mass tackled him off Hanna's prone form. When the Phorusrhacosregained his bearings, he was surprised when he saw Chris Sinclair helping up his downed comrade and handing the girl her discarded bow and arrows from the ground. If he was capable, the Terror Bird would have scowled. He made this little "hunt" too personal, making him lose focus. Shaking his head, the Terror Bird retreated back into the mist; he'll find another opening to exploit.

"You going to be ok Hanna?" Chris asked as he scanned the mist for the black and yellow bird.

The archer huffed. "This is the most I've been beaten up before, what's a few more bruises?"

She checked her bow before nocking back another arrow. Hanna then looked back at the older man, oddly calmer than before despite being attacked by a bird nearly three times her size.

"Chris, I think this is my last stop. I'm going to buy you some time," Hanna informed, interrupting the rookie Keeper when it looked like he was going to object. "Look at me Chris, I'm a wreck right now. I wouldn't be able to keep up with you if I tried."

It took a moment of internal debate before Chris sighed wearily. He then took out his leather man knife and put it in her hands.

"Here, take this." Chris said, closing Hanna's fingers around the knife handle. "In case he gets in too close again."

Nodding in thanks, Hanna waved him off, wanting him to get going. Taking that chance, Chris unslung his electro-shotgun and sprinted off back to the training course. Hanna, holding her gifted knife in her bow-hand, searched the trees again, not noticing a barely hidden Terror Bird cocking his head and smirking, pleased at the camaraderie he witnessed. With a shrug, Espantos moved in to attack.

If the girl wanted to be a martyr, who was he to deny her that?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hazel really wanted to wring out Nero's neck.

During this stupid test, she had to contend with that stubborn Sinclair, navigate and nearly fall to her death on the foggy wood bridge course, AND nearly gotten trampled by Kerato who destroyed her platform and chased her off course for several dozen yards. However, now that the girl gave the mammal the slip, she was back on track and could see the glade with the bells. Finally, she had the chance to ring that stupid thing and be done with this insanity.

She found it odd that there were five separate bells, but she wasn't the one who made this dumb test.

Hazel scowled when she was coincidentally running side by side with her rival Sinclair. It peeved her that the man seemed less scuffled and less out of breath when compared to herself, but chalked it up to him having an easier time since she blazed the trail for him to follow.

Both Rookie Leader and Keeper stopped at the edge of the glade to take a breath, both glaring at each other.

"You and I have a lot to talk about when this is done," Chris said evenly.

"After I win this thing, I have a feeling you're going to be a bit too busy with training to talk," Hazel sassily retorted.

"It's good that you still have some fire left. You two are going to need it."

The duo's standoff was broken at the unexpected voice.

Standing off to the side was Big Al, Alyssa, and Broken Jaw waiting patiently for the young humans to finish their squabble; Woodstock, Bruno, Aladar, and the Alaskan Pachyrhinosaurs were judging off to the side.

"Hey guys!" Hazel greeted. "Here to congratulate me for finishing the test?"

"Hate to be the bearers of bad news, but you two are not done," Al informed.

"You have one final test to complete," Alyssa continued.

BJ then gave a crooked smile. "You two have to get through us!"

Both Hazel and Chris went bug-eyed. They went through hell just to get to near the end and now they had to deal with a gang of Allosaurus? Chris was the first to break out of his stupor.

"And how are we supposed to fight three large carnivores?" The Keeper sarcastically asked.

"Luckily for you, we can't use our teeth or claws. We have to defend these bell things." Big Al revealed. "However, you may want to hurry, the other Hunters are still coming,and they are still within their right to take you down."

"So, do you two have what it takes to make it to the end? Only one of you can win," Alyssa teased.

Chris and Hazel returned to their glaring contest. They both had to fight off and evade Al's pack while also fighting off each other? They then internally smirked and coincidently had the same thought.

'I'm going to enjoy this way more than I should.'

At an unspoken sign, both trainees broke off and tried to circle around the three Allosaurs. Al and Alyssa went after Hazel and Chris respectively, easily keeping up with their miniscule size.

It was at this point that Hazel was kicking herself for not thinking to have a ranged weapon as she witnessed Chris firing off Electro-shotgun shells in the direction of Alyssa, who deftly dodged the small rounds. Instead, she took her chances to cut and slash at Al's legs and feet, her attempts being miniscule at best.

It took a while, but Hazel and Chris circled the entire clearing and bumped into each other. Their competitive streak flared before they struck. Hazel was the first to take a quick slash at Chris with her dagger, which Chris expertly evaded and escaped with only a slight slash on his right pectoral. She was then caught by surprise when the butt ofhis gun parried another one of her dagger strikes and then was planted straight into her gut, momentarily knocking the wind out of her. Both young man and woman tried to get the edge on the other as they ran towards the bells they were supposed to ring, while also evading Al and Alyssa, who were momentarily warded off with a few choice dagger slashes and taser-shell shots.

What they didn't account for was the Spawn of Red Sand.

At the first few shots that Chris made at the Yellow Allosaurus, the duo noticed that Broken Jaw wasn't fazedat all. Even a deep stab from Hazel merely earned her an annoyed grunt. BJ flicked Hazel away with his snout and lightly (for his size) tail-whipped Chris away, who luckily raised his shotgun in front of him to slightly protect him; his weapon unfortunately snapped like a twig.

Hazel wanted to kick herself again. This was Broken Jaw. His whole life, the young Allosaur knew nothing but pain to survive. He probably greeted the stings and stabbings like a friend at this point. Undeterred, Hazel got up again and charged straight toward the Yellow Allosaurus.

Smirking, the son of Red Sand met Hazel with his own charge roaring all the while in an attempt to intimidate the young woman. However, at the last second, Hazel ducked and rolled under Broken Jaw's titular namesake and ran the rest of the way towards her destination.

Gripping onto the centermost bell, Hazel rang it, signaling the end of the inane obstacle course.

As the young woman was cheering, Chris followed suit at a sedated pace and merely rang his bell once, all the while having a scowl on his face. It didn't bother Hazel too much. She was finally free from this dumb test.

"Haha! In your face Sinclair! Looks like you're stuck training with Nero and Sarge in the coming weeks." Hazel taunted. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to put a good word in for you."

"That's rich coming from the shit leader!" Chris replied, practically snarling at the overconfident Asian woman. This in turn, made Hazel scowl in kind.

"You want to repeat that Sinclair?"

"Are you hard of hearing Veran?! Yes, I think you are a BAD LEADER!" Chris said, meeting his "superior's" challenging glare. "While you shot off into the woods, me and the others had to suffer attacks from the Hunters and even gotten injured! Your own sister took the god damn brunt of it!"

"How dare you put my sister in danger!" Hazel shouted.

"Are you freaking kidding me right now?! You're gonna try to pin this shit on me?!"

"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!"

The two's shouting match was cut off, by an approaching Nero, whose trademark scowl seemed to be etched even deeper into his face. Following him was Ellis, Daisy, and Hanna, whom were all too injured to walk without support. Ellis was hanging off of Espantos who took great care to keep his long strides shorter so that the injured engineer could keep up. Daisy was relatively unharmed, but had to lean on Kerato's side as she favored her left side. Hanna was worse off as her bandaged right leg refused to let her put any weight on it. Even her arms had a few lacerations from Espantos when he removed the flags on her arms, hindering her ability to move them too suddenly. She was draped over Kerato's back, much to Hazel surprise, since the elephantine rhino wasn't known for his empathy. Blaine's pack and Sabrina's group followed in the back of the group.

Nero had an unreadable look on his face before he looked at the assembled judges, who now entered the glade and grouped up to discuss their verdict.

Ornith, Yin, Oddie silently talked amongst themselves before coming to a consensus. The Ornithomimus Leader negatively shook her head.

Charles and the lone bird Alex merely shook their heads, the Diplodocus even vocalizing his answer with a resounding "No…"

Woodstock, Bruno, and Patchi all had equally swift answers of "No", Bruno and Woodstock even offering their pity in the form of frowns.

The last holdout was Aladar who was silent the whole time. He was debating within himself for his answer. His internal thoughts were interrupted when Nero impatiently cleared his throat; want to get Aladar's answer.

With a disappointed sigh, the Herd Leader shook his head.

"As much as it pains me, my answer is also no, Nero." Aladar said.

With a heavy sigh, Nero focused on his group of humans.

"Ellis, Daisy, Hanna, Chris," Nero's eyes then roved over to the fledgling human leader, eyes narrowing at her. "Hazel."

"You have all performed extremely well for your species, so take pride in your strength and cunning." Nero complemented before returning to his scowl. "However, you have all failed this course! After you have healed up, I expect you to return to training with me and Sarge for the remainder of the winter. That is all, Maggots!"

This devastated the human trainees, but none more so than Hazel who marched up to Nero face.

"What the Hell Nero! I thought the first one to ring the bell got off scot-free from training! Are you going back on your word?!"

"Don't mistake my indulgence of this little outburst as camaraderie Human!" Nero barked, making Hazel back up. "And to answer your question, I have not broken my promise of my word."

Nero's face was practically in Hazel's at this point as he continued.

"I said that for you to succeed 'all of you must ring the bell to complete the test'. So I expected ALL of you to have made it to the end."

"A leader leads, Hazel, and right now you are as far from a leader than one can expect. While you forged ahead of your peers, it was Chris who was the one to step into your role to assist his team as best he could. Although he failed to help them, he shows the markings of someone trustworthy to follow."

Frustrated that she had lost due to a technicality, Hazel was about to argue her case when she heard something in the distance.

It was the cry of a creature in pain.


	23. A Jaded Mind

_**Disclaimer: We do not own Disney's Dinosaur, Prehistoric Park, Walking with Dinosaurs BBC, Walking with Dinosaurs 2013, March of the Dinosaurs, and Dinosaur Revolution. We also don't own the music. Enjoy!**_

 _ **Soundtrack: Forest Battle by Dimos Stathoulis/For King and Country by Ezra Raymond**_

"Help!"

"Someone help me!"

Hazel quickened her pace at the plea. The cries for help rang in her ears like an incessant bug. In her mind, she wondered about who would be out in this forest alone at this time. Surely not one of the Residents or her employees; they would need to be watching over each other. And it couldn't be one of the Alaskan _Pachyrhinosaurus_ ; usually they would go here in groups for some protection. The only other explanation would be a native of this valley.

Regardless, she couldn't ignore a cry for help.

Hazel skid under a log, the twigs just missing the top of her head. The forest debris clung onto her clothes, but she paid no mind to the slight irritation. She traversed over a few rocks, making sure not to slip and fall. The rigorous, yet pointless test that Nero held quickly became the dominant thought as the moments went on.

Her body ached with each stretch. It screamed at each strain of her muscles. The bruises and scrapes she got from earlier irritated her being. The anger of her failure of being a leader rose again. It wasn't her fault that the others couldn't keep up with her. They were supposed to help each other; her job was to lead them. Then there was that stupid Chris; criticizing her of her failure. He and Nero were probably in on this from the start. Maybe Chris was trying to make a point saying that he could do a better job than her. Like hell he would.

" _No, now's not the time to think about that,"_ she shook the thought. Someone was in danger and that was more important.

The forest was huge, that much she can agree with. The trees were about as tall as a _Brachiosaurus_ like Baylene and thicker than an elephant's leg. If she had wings, she could see that it spanned for several miles before reaching the base of the valley wall. She also noticed that the lighting was getting a little dimmer. The trees could be fuller in this part of the forest or it could be other factors; like the time of day, the weather, or probably because of the shade of the mountain range. It could be anything.

The only thing that guided her way was the voice she kept hearing. She followed it, the voice getting louder and clearer. It was male; deep with a bit of an edge to it. It wasn't like that of Caius, where his was smooth with a hint of intellect. This one sounded like it was hardened by life's challenges.

As she made her way, she took notice of something she did not see earlier. Some of the trees were bent over like curved wires; nearly touching the ground. Many tree limbs were broken and scattered on the forest floor. Trunks that were once whole trees were snapped in half, showing ripped bark. Hazel had to carefully maneuver her way through to avoid getting injury by the broken nature sentinels. Several footprints, at least the ones she can make out in the mud, were scattered everywhere. Many plants were either buried in mud, wood, stone, a combination, or they were uprooted. Creatures that were unlucky to escape this destruction were lying dead; most of which were small rodents, lizards, birds, and a few small dinosaurs.

Something came crashing through here, and it spanned for the whole forest. And yet she just now noticed it. Whatever had caused this much destruction must have been big. Perhaps it was a raging herd of dinosaurs. Or it could be a pack. But what dinosaurs could cause this much destruction to a whole forest? It didn't make sense.

"Somebody please help me!"

Hazel shook her head. He was close. She sprinted through the forest destruction until she came upon where she needed to be.

This area was just as chaotic as the one she was in. Broken and uprooted trees, scattered branches, and turned mud were everywhere. At least there was more of a clearing in this area, save for a few branches and rocks. She turned her head at the sound of grunting and found the source of the screaming.

It was a male _Pteranodon_. Unlike Flia, who had her flat, paddle crest, this one had a larger narrow crest that was common in the _Pteranodons_ she read about. His back was bright red while his underside was a dark tan. His crest was red with white stripes. Considering that his colors were bright, she inferred that he was in his prime, probably around Flia's age.

There's a _Pteranodon_ in this part of Alaska? While they and other pterosaurs were practically widespread in a global scale around the planet, always migrating or staying in a favored area, it was rather odd to see one in this part of Alaska. It was far too cold for them, and it wasn't any better that they were inland too. Even Flia was having a hard time coping with the freezing temperatures that she almost always remained inside the warming tents, only to go out to feed or exercise before returning to get warm. The only exceptions would be the ones that were adapted to this place, but Hazel did not see or hear any reports of native _Pteranodons_ here.

The male flyer was trapped under a fallen tree, which was broken from the left side. Part of it was still attached to the base. Unfortunately, he was near the branches where it was pinned to the ground. She could clearly see claw marks where he tried to claw his way out. The thing about that was it was only on his left side.

While one of his wings seemed sprawled out in front of him, the other was hugging close to his body. He winced in pain when he tried to move it.

"Someone...please…" he coughed.

"Hold on! I'm coming!" Hazel rushed over to him.

She was not surprised at him getting shocked at her approach. She had gotten used to it at this point. If she were in his position, he would be on edge if a mysterious creature had come running towards him with unknown intent, especially one that was unknown in the time period.

"Gah! Get away from me, predator!" he yelped as soon as she knelt down next to him. The _Pteranodon_ tried to crawl his way out and then gave up due to exhaustion.

"Whoa whoa! It's okay! I'm not a predator! I'm just here to help!"

Thankfully, that was what she needed. Her defense eased him; where she was met with fear was replaced with silent suspicion.

"What?" he finally said after a few moments.

"Yeah, you heard me. I'm not going to eat you," the woman told him blatantly. She then got up and started inspecting the log. It was definitely a huge log. A group of people alone using chains or ropes won't cut it when trying to move it. It would take at least a truck and people with ropes or chains to do the job. Or...perhaps one or two Residents. "Geez...what happened here?"

The Cretaceous winged reptile groaned after painfully getting himself a bit more comfortable. "Windstorm...something I did not expect."

Strong winds did this to him and the surrounding area? That did sound possible. She did not see any evidence of rampaging herbivores or large carnivores when she was getting here. If the winds were strong enough, they could have uprooted a few trees and blown a lot of debris.

Wait...strong winds? Hazel remembered something. This morning, she had heard complaints from a few employees and Residents about some strong winds the night before. Something about huge gusts that damaged some roofs and damaged some minor equipment, especially a small glitch in the heaters. She had to get staff to work on repairs before anyone froze to death. It was a miracle none of the warming tents were blown away. They were anchored down securely by wooden stakes and iron bars.

The damage in this part of the forest was from strong gusts. It must have been bad to cause a lot of pandemonium like this. And the fact that her solo martial arts review/dagger practice yesterday tiring her out caused her to sleep like a log through the night.

She broke out of her thoughts when she heard him wince in pain. Focusing her attention on him, she inspected his hugged wing. The arm seemed to be crooked with something bumpy near the shoulder. She could see dark coloration on that part and that his wing quivered every time he tried to move it.

"Don't move, you'll only make it worse," she told him.

The male hissed in pain. "My wing...I think I broke it."

"Yeah it looks bad. I'm Hazel, by the way," Hazel introduced promptly while inspecting the limb.

"Aeros," he grunted before relaxing. "I can't say I've seen your like before."

"Yeah I'm not from around here. And something's telling me you're not either. What's a _Pteranodon_ like you doing way up north?"

"Well...you're right on that part," Aeros replied deeply. "I was migrating when I accidentally flew into a windstorm. I tried to fight my way out, but I couldn't. The winds were too strong. I had no choice but to ride it out. I didn't know where it was taking me, but it was someplace cold," he shivered. "A gust forced me down and caused me to hit a few trees. One of them fell on me. And the rest you know."

Hazel nodded, confirming her suspicions on the damaged area. "I see. I did hear about some strong winds last night. That must have been a downward draft that caused you to crash."

"If that's what it's called then yeah, it did. Usually, my kind would stay over at the coast further south from here, at least until the cold winds come. Then we would migrate for the winter. Now I...I don't think I'll be able to escape this season," Aeros frowned with dampened spirits.

"Don't worry; you'll be back on your wings in no time. I know people who can help."

Hazel straightened herself, taking another look at the log. "I'll need to call in some help. This thing's too heavy for me."

Her hand had touched her vest pocket where her radio was when she heard a growl. Hazel scanned her surroundings, her senses alert for whatever had caused that. She knew it was dangerous out here, especially since it was outside the White Noise Cannon boundary of Temporary Park. A single human out here with just a dagger that was laughable to any large creature was like a joke to them.

Then again, this was not the first time she fought a large carnivore.

Coming from her left was a large brown muzzle that eventually turned into a huge bipedal carnivore with feathers. Pillars of saliva dripped from its sharp pearly teeth. A menacing hiss escaped its throat, which then turned into a growl. The thundering steps it made shook the ground; Hazel had to crouch a little just to maintain some balance.

Hazel remembered Patchi's story of his herd's journey to this valley; how they were besieged by an army of these things. _Albertosaurus_ was the name that popped up. This one matched his description perfectly. Not quite as big as a _Tyrannosaurus rex_ , but still just as dangerous.

She gripped the dagger at her side, doing her best to prevent her limbs from trembling. So there were _Albertosaurus_ here. And if one was here, then there must be more nearby. They must have followed the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ herd's scent, or perhaps another herd's. While this valley was protected from most things, it was not indomitable to predatory invasion. This place was bound to have a few carnivores running about.

But if these things were here, then this spelled trouble not only for the Pachy herd, but Temporary Park too.

Hazel drew her dagger and positioned herself in a fighting stance; her blade drawn close to her ear while her left hand was in a fist in front of her.

"Oh shit…" she cursed at the situation she was in.

"Go! Get out of here!" Aeros frantically, yet futilely tried to dig himself out. "Run!"

The woman twirled the dagger in her hand. "Sorry, but I'm not leaving you behind."

The tyrannosaur let out a screeching roar as it went into a charge. Hazel let out a battle cry and sprinted as fast as she could. Her arms and legs powered through the pain of the torturous test. Her mind screamed for her to flee, but her heart had other ideas. Aeros was in danger.

Taking on a large carnivore wasn't the same as fighting a small raptor, or to be specific from that one time, a pack of raptors. Hazel thought about her options. Tyrannosaurs relied on their brute strength and huge jaws to kill prey/rivals. They may have excellent vision but they had some blind spots. Hazel was quick on her feet and was a lot smaller than it. They were quick, but constant activity and they could exhaust it. If she could cripple it and tire it out, then they might stand a chance.

When she saw the carnivore drive its head back, her logic told her it was about to go for a frontal attack. Hazel leaped forward and rolled, just barely missing those snapping jaws. Her back kissed the ground, the twigs stabbing through her clothes. Ignoring the pain, she righted herself and launched herself up to one of its legs.

Hazel drove her blade into its leg with a vicious cry. The steel pierced the hide, red blood dripping down its scales in a never-ending stream. The hunter shrieked at the sudden injury from this small creature.

As she kept stabbing and swiping the beast's leg, it went for her with its jaws. Hazel, expecting this, merely jumped away before running up and grabbing at it again for another stab. The carnivore kept on biting only air as the human nimbly dodged each attack. When it tried to stomp, she either hung onto the leg or she jumped out of the way.

The minutes went by. The predator's frustration grew and fatigue was hitting her hard. Her lungs ached like it had rocks inside. She kept gasping, trying to breathe. Fighting a carnivore wasn't new to her. Escaping death was something she was used to. But those times she was lucky. If this kept up, she would be too drained to fight back.

Hazel dodged another attack, her breath escaping in a near wheeze. It was then she noticed that it did so slower. She took another look and noticed something. Its legs were nearly coated in holes and scratches and blood. It winced every time it moved its legs.

Smiling at her handiwork, she jumped onto another one of its legs for another series of jabs. The carnivore, however, went on one leg and shook its other rigorously, putting a few stomps every now and then.

Hazel screamed and yelped, digging her dagger deeper into the skin. Her legs straddled the predator's leg girth, only for them to dangle out helplessly with the shaking. The woman shut her eyes as she tried to steel herself. The constant shaking back and forth was making her dizzy.

Before she knew it, she was flying in the air. She slammed against a tree with a grunt, the freezing bark impacted her skin like rocks, as if it were already petrified. She felt herself fall and land on the forest floor. Her face stung with the little twigs that scratched against her skin.

When she opened her eyes, she only saw blurred shapes. The rock in front of her became two and one back and forth. Her head and side ached terribly, like someone punched her constantly for hours. Hazel wiped her eyes, trying to clear her vision.

As she looked up, she saw the _Albertosaurus_ stalking towards her. A silver shape caught her eye on the right; her dagger. She quickly grabbed for it and armed herself. The creature was only a few feet away.

Hazel tried to get up, but only to fall back down. That last attack had stunned her. Was this how she dies; at the jaws of a tyrannosaur? She never got to live out her whole life. She never got to spend her final moments with her friends. She never got to tell her sister everything she needed to know to survive this part of life. Her mother would be even more devastated, dying just like her father did. Visions of her past came flooding in her mind like a DVD set on fast forward. Her chest fell like a rock. She remembered the good times she had with her friends and with her family before her father's death. She remembered the bad times. She remembered the thrilling times. All of it came flooding back to her.

Then, one final thought came to her mind. The fact that she went out here alone, was idiotic of her.

She saw it rear its head back. The curved teeth, ready to rip her to shreds, brandished in the cold air. A guttural growl roared in the woods, deafening her.

"Go on then, get it over with," she cursed under her breath.

The predator opened its jaw for the killing blow. Hazel shut her eyes, not wanting to see it kill her.

She expected the teeth to sink into her skin, her bones breaking from the bite force that was worse than a shark's, blood spewing all over her limp corpse.

But it never came.

Another, more sonorous roar brought her out of her seemingly "death" contemplation. She opened her eyes and could slightly make out a blue-green shape broadsiding the now irritated _Albertosaurus_. Two arms locked onto its side like swords.

When her vision cleared, she could see her savior being none other than Aladar.

Surprise turned into relief. Her adrenaline rush that rushed through her body slowed, but only a little bit. He must have been chasing after her as soon as she bolted into the woods. How could she not think of that? If anything happened to her, Aladar would never be able to live with himself. She was part of his family.

While he did battle against the tyrannosaur, with brute strength and a series of stabs and swipes, a green quadruped joined him in shoving it against a tree.

Her jaw dropped when she watched the duo of Aladar and Nero.

She watched as they stabbed and swiped the carnivore multiple times, its body now getting coated in blood. Every time it tried to get away, they just shoved it back against the tree.

The battle was over when Nero swiped it on the face with his tail when it tried to get away again. Before it could come to, he rushed up to it to deliver the final blow in the form of a thumb spike to the neck. This apparently hit a major artery as a fountain of blood came pouring out of it, drenching the ground and any plant life unfortunate to be in its way to become drenched in red. The predator collapsed on the ground, writhing in agony, until writhed no more.

It was an awful way to die, but they did so out of defense, both for themselves and for Hazel. Aeros himself fell quiet but was quite stunned to see such a spectacle.

Before any of them could breathe a sigh of relief, two more of them stalked into the clearing, hunger and primal instinct driving them to off them all.

"I'll hold them off!" yelled Nero as he got into a defensive stance. "Go help her!"

A pang ignited in her mind. Memories of being in a dark cave, sheltered from a thunderstorm, two carnivores driven to kill for survival, a friend about to get eaten, and a collapsing ceiling rushed to her. Hazel clenched her fist, worry welling up inside her. Nero had said the exact same thing Bruton said, and those were his last words before he got crushed by rocks. Was it happening again? Was Nero about to sacrifice himself? She failed to help Bruton back then. Should she go help him?

No, Nero would never allow himself to go out easily. If she did that, she would only be in his way. Besides, someone needed to help Aeros.

Aladar followed Nero's advice and went to where she and the fallen _Pteranodon_ were. His face lit up with silent relief as he saw her still alive and unhurt.

"Hazel! Are you okay?" he slid to stop just feet in front of her.

"I'm fine," she coughed before righting herself, "thanks to you two."

"What were you thinking!?" the ornithopod exploded in worry, something that made her jump a little, "Running off on your own like that! Do you know the dangers that are out in these forests? We're not in our valley, you know!"

"Yeah I'm aware, but I couldn't just ignore a cry for help!" she pointed with her thumb over at Aeros, who was staring at the two of them.

An awkward moment had passed between the two Cretaceous denizens, one that left the _Pteranodon_ shocked at the little squabble and the _Iguanodon_ stunned at why one of his best friends did what she did.

Aeros squirmed to try to move his trapped wing, only for him to grimace at the sting he felt. "Uh…I would wave, but I can't at the moment," he strained under the weight.

Aladar, attempting to apologize in light of this new development, was about to reply when battle cries and roars turned his attention away from the injured crested flying reptile. A blur of brown fur with a huge horn came charging up to an _Albertosaurus_ that was about to ambush him from behind. The poor predator did not survive the impact as it lay sprawled and broken just a few feet away. A feathered two-legged avian came running from that same direction the mammal came from and started running around in circles, hammering its beak onto the incoming hunter's legs, or running around to confuse them with playful backchat. Following it were several other creatures, from three _Allosaurus_ that were taking on an _Albertosaurus_ together, a screeching _Therizinosaurus_ that was shredding another with its scythe-like claws like a crazed killer on a spree, a pack of _Dilophosaurus_ that slaughtered one with teamwork, and an angry _Pachyrhinosaurus_ that slammed into one up against a tree.

Hazel watched as most of the Residents (except Patchi) that were in attendance during the training course battled against the tyrannosaurs; at least, the ones that could go. Oddie and Ornith weren't good fighters and the larger sauropods would find the dense forest to be detrimental; they would find the tightness of the trees to be difficult for their large size. It made sense that they would retreat from this. Then there was Sabrina, who must have decided to protect the cubs and get them to safety rather than staying to fight.

One other thing that stood out was the fact that her "future" team were also fighting. Ellis was riding on a speeding Espantos while shooting shock rounds, stunning them long enough for a Resident to attack. Chris did the same, except he was hitching a ride on Alyssa. Hanna was firing her custom arrows at various _Albertosaurus_ , all of which hit the sides or chests of the predators. While those did not kill them, at least it weakened them or distracted them for someone else to take a bigger blow. Daisy was the only one not fighting and had her arms tight around Hanna's waist while on the oversized Kerato.

The girls dismounted and got over to Hazel's side after Hanna fired an arrow to _Albertosaurus_ in the eye before it that got sliced by Bruno. When they did, Aladar and Kerato worked on lifting the tree trunk while the girls dragged Aeros out. He may be a large pterosaur, but being so lightweight and having the support of three humans; it was not that hard to get him out.

The tree groaned and landed with a thump when the two giants let it fall. With that out of the way, they proceeded to keep a lookout, making sure none of the predators got close to the girls and the injured flyer.

"We came as fast as we could," Daisy gasped, recuperating from the support effort.

"Perfect timing," Hazel said in a rather frustrated tone, "Better late than never."

The Grecian woman ignored her snarky remark and investigated the now gasping male pterosaur. " _Aftó den eínai kaló_ (this is not good). He's in bad shape. I don't see any blood though."

The dagger warrior pointed at the limp wing on his side. "He's got a broken wing. And his ribs may be crushed but I can't tell."

"Regardless, we need to get him to safety."

"Who-who are these guys?" Aeros finally spoke after catching his breath, looking at all the newcomers that were fending off the tyrannosaurs. "More friends of yours?"

"You can say that, yeah," she directed her attention to the others that were fighting. "Someone! We need some help here!"

She looked at all of the Residents that were defending them, only to find that they were all busy. Thankfully, aid came to them in the form of a grey male _Allosaurus_. Big Al had finished ripping one tyrannosaur's throat before making his way up to them. He had swallowed chunks of flesh and licked his teeth, either out of hunger or some other reason.

Aeros gasped, only for Hazel to reassure him with a pat on the bank. "It's okay! He's with us."

The _Pteranodon_ gave her a flabbergasted expression. "You're friends with carnivores!?"

"Yeah it is kind of strange," Hanna said, firing another arrow at a tyrannosaur to their right.

"Al, Aeros here is hurt; we need to get him back to the park. Think you can carry him?" the young leader asked the bloody-mouthed hunter.

The Jurassic predator merely snorted and smirked. "Kid, I've encountered flyers smaller than him before I started living with you guys. They weigh as much as leaves. Get him here."

He lowered himself until he was at a reasonable level for the humans to handle. The girls grabbed onto Aeros, albeit carefully. They worked together on draping him over Al's back like a blanket that was ready to dry outside. His body wobbled with each movement; whether it was out of fear or pain, they had no idea.

As they did that, the young woman managed to get a quick look at her surroundings. Already, there were dead _Albertosaurus_ all around, but more were coming in to replace them. About six of them were coming, with more on the way. The roars and cries that the tyrannosaurs and Residents emitted were almost deafening. Blood was dripping from wounds, but mostly from the unlucky Alaskan predators. She thought about the park and how they were taking this. She would not be surprised if they interpreted this as danger; if they retreated behind the park borders, it would make it much easier for everyone.

A caw brought her attention skyward. Flapping down above them, sustained by a hover, was Flia. Flapping madly next to her was Alex the _Alexornis_.

"There you are! Are you okay?" asked the crested female.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she confirmed.

"My feathered companion and I did a quick sweep around the area. There are more of these things coming in all around us! I estimated at least ten, but there could be more!"

" _Señorita_ , we need to leave or we'll become their next buffet!" Alex told them frantically.

One quick glance at Aeros confirmed his safety as he was already positioned on Al's back. She then glanced at everyone else, seeing that they were faring well, for now.

"Everyone! Get back to the park! Retreat!" she told them all.

The Residents present stop what they were doing (after keeping the hunters at bay). Most of them questioned her judgement, but the others took this as their chance to escape. This was further confirmed when Nero told them all to fall back since he saw the retreating form of the injured Aeros on Al's back. Everyone took off following the green warrior, leaving behind a few dazed _Albertosaurus_ and others coming after them.

Hanna and Daisy mounted onto Kerato as he passed by them. Hazel followed close behind after calling Aladar over for assistance. Riding on his back, they darted through the dense tundra woods.

The chase through the forest brought back memories of her most recent, back when she brought those trainees back to the Jurassic period. Memories of jumping over logs, rocks, and dodging around trees all while escaping a forest fire ran fresh in her mind. At the same time, the same pack of _Dilophosaurus_ that aided them now chased after her for a prospective meal. Each jump over a ravine or a rock merely made Hazel remember that time.

But that was a different situation. What they were dealing with now was perhaps more dangerous.

Hazel coordinated with Aladar's movements; ducking under vegetation or holding on tightly during each leap. Every turn he made, she leaned with him.

Stealing a glance back, she saw a number of _Albertosaurus_ hot on their tail. They were a few yards away, yet it almost felt like they were breathing down their necks. Their roars and shrieks sent chills down her spine. Looking back at them had torn her attention away from her _Iguanodon_ friend's movements; she almost flew off his back when he made another jump.

Focusing her attention ahead, she saw the mist pull back. The clearing ahead eventually gave way, revealing the valley clearing. And standing nervously yards in front of them were members of both the Valley and Alaskan herds.

"Everyone, fall back to the barrier!" Aladar called out to them.

"Run!" went Patchi, who ran close next to him. "Get out of here!"

Pandemonium ensued when the herd members spotted the familiar bipedal menacing figures barge out of the forest. The tyrannosaurs roared, announcing their foreboding arrival. The herd members, both young and old, retreated towards the park borders that were shown to them from the beginning. Screams of terror reached their ears in a horrifying symphony, something Hazel tried to block out with her hands.

As they ran towards the borders, _Pachyrhinosaurus_ came charging on each side to fight off the predators. From what she was seeing, they were all from Patchi's herd. They all honked a battle cry and lowered their frills, brandishing their club noses and horns for the clash. Following their charge, she saw them clash against the sides and torsos of the tyrannosaurs, only for them to receive bites and scratches in return.

She then noticed Patchi gasp and skid to a halt. He turned around, watching as members of his group proceeded to give up their lives to save everyone else. Hazel remembered the alpha's story of their journey to this valley; how they were chased out of their home by creatures like these and how many of them lost their lives in an effort to protect their friends and families. She knew Patchi wanted to help them again, but if Flia was right (and she always was), there were many more coming. There was no concrete plan and going in there blindly without one would result in a lot of casualties. The park may have well-fit individuals who were more than ready to take them on, she did not want to take that risk.

"Aladar, stop!" she called out to him, causing him to dig his hooves on the ground, making a skidding track.

"What? What is it?" he asked her.

"Look!" she pointed back.

When he followed his friend's finger, his eyes fell upon the stricken Patchi. All around them were ceratopsian bulls and cows from his herd coming to fight off the intruders. They clashed their heads and bodies against the incoming _Albertosaurus_ , some of which falling from their wounds or quick strikes to their necks while others were picking up where their comrades left off. The two of them shared a knowing glance.

"There are more of them coming! They can't take them on like this!" the alpha told her.

He and his ward darted off towards Patchi, who was running up to help a bull that was on his last legs. As they did, they passed by herd members that were still making their way up to the tyrannosaurs.

"Turn around!" Hazel warned them. "Get out of here! It's not safe!"

"Turn back!" Aladar followed.

The _Iguanodon's_ message reached the ears of the ceratopsians. While a number of them saw the logic and turned tail, the few that remained kept charging. Hazel felt helpless once again as they ignored their warning.

"No!" hollered one male. "We've lost so many of us! We're not letting that happen again!"

"We're not letting them near the herd!" yelled another one, this time to their far left.

"Go!" commanded one female that sounded like an elder. "We'll buy everyone time for them to escape!"

The both of them could nothing as they watched them slam their bodies against the incoming tyrannosaurs; horns meeting hide and bone breaking bone. Screams of agony from both sides echoed. Warriors, both herbivore and carnivore, fell before their wounds. The grassy plain that was once pristine was becoming stained with red and littered with corpses.

Hazel felt the pang in her heart at their sacrifice. Years of being with the park and the deaths of such brave _Pachyrhinosaurus_ was gut-wrenching. They may not be members of the park, but seeing them give up their lives for others was heartbreaking.

But now was not the time to mourn. They made their choice. The only thing they can do now is to survive and not let their sacrifice be in vain.

Aladar growled and ran up to a distraught Patchi that was trying to fend one off, his feelings being the same as his human companion. He managed to get in front of the alpha and cut off his path, only to make him angry at the interruption.

"What are you doing!?" he tried to get around the ornithopod, "Get out of my way!"

"Patchi listen!" he tried to reason. "We have to go now!"

"Did a predator eat your brain? This is part of my herd here! They need my help!" Patchi brayed defiantly.

"Patchi, there's too many of them and more are coming!" Hazel yelled, the memories of that one time when she and Flia were in the Salt Plains came to her like a flood, "They're already lost! They made their choice to stand and fight!"

The ceratopsian bull roared and pawed on the ground, ready to barrel through a determined Aladar and Hazel.

"If you go, you die!" she warned him, hitting his emotions. "You won't be much use to your herd if you're dead! They need you!"

The alpha Pachyrhinosaur fell quiet. Distraught and grief started to show on his features. He shook his head, trying not to break down. Hazel understood his pain, but now was not the time to do that now. Escape was their priority.

"Patchi, you need to get back to the others," Hazel told him. "If we stay here any longer, we won't stand a chance."

"But we outnumber them! We can take them on!"

"We don't know how many are out there!" Aladar shook his head at his defiance. "And if we do this without a plan, then there's a big chance we won't survive!"

That was the clincher. Patchi, though starting to grieve, retreated back towards the park. It was the truth; if he stayed to help them, chances were he would not survive. His herd would be left without its alpha male. Juniper would have to lead it alone, unless Scowler chose to step in for him. His herd needed a leader to lead them through this tough time. The best thing they can do is to retreat and fight another day.

At least Patchi saw the sense to retreat, but a new problem arose when they caught sight of Hazel's future team and their partners (or Chris on Alyssa in this case) charging passed her to fight off the intruders.

Aladar eyes Hazel with worry. "Hazel-!"

"I know!" she acknowledged.

The two of them made their way towards them, managing to catch up to Ellis even though he was on the speeding Espantos. Aladar was doing his best to keep up with the quick avian, his gasps getting louder with every effort he made.

"Attention all keepers!" Ellis yelled into the radio he grabbed from the side of his belt. "We've got an army of _Albertosaurus_ that are literally coming to tear everyone apart! I need every hand out here!"

Hazel shook her head. Didn't he read the surroundings? Everyone was retreating! She grabbed for the radio at her side. When she was about to speak into it, she noticed the screen was blank and the green button at the top was dark. She wanted to smack herself at the technicality; so this was the other main reason why they failed Nero's test! How could she have left the power off!? Sure her "team" did not keep up with her and it was their own fault, but with the radio power off, she could have at least lent them some support!

Turning the volume knob on to power up the radio, she pressed the side button and yelled out her orders. "Everyone, ignore that last order! Remain within the borders and help with the injured! Vets, I need you out in the field! Everyone who is out here needs to return to the park!"

Everyone in her team, including her younger sister, just looked at her in shock.

"What the-!? Are you thick in the head!? We've got the means to fight them! We can take them on!" Ellis argued.

"It's too risky!" she told him as Aladar skid to a stop, the rest of the Residents that had humans on them did the same thing. "There's too many of them coming!"

"You're being stupid!" Chris protested. "We outnumber them two to one!"

Hazel gritted her teeth. First she was called out for not helping her team get to the end of the test and now she was insulted!? "I am not! I'm being tactical! We can't do this without a plan! We have injured too!"

"Hazel, if we do not help them now, they won't make it!" Daisy tried to persuade her to let them go, only to get a harsh response in return.

"I'm the leader! Now do as you're told!"

If Hazel had paid any attention at all, she would have seen Aladar just stare at her incredulously. What she did notice was everyone else though. Never had she said something so rudely to anybody, unless she was defending her friends. This time was different. Everyone was in danger and these guys were just standing here doing nothing. How idiotic was that!? Couldn't they see the logic in this?

Whatever, if they think this is stupid, then fine. But she gave out an order and they are expected to follow it. Though she did feel that hard pang in her heart on how selfish she sounded.

But this was a battlefield and sometimes hard decisions needed to be made.

Sure enough, they obeyed her, much to their disappointment. They all turned and retreated back towards the border where the White Noise Cannons were. Those contraptions were their first line and best defense against the _Albertosaurus_ ; and they were the only things that could save them.

Onwards they ran, passing by other frantic dinosaurs. The injured ones, whether they received them from the tyrannosaurs or from the panic, were being helped by others who were fitter. Staff members who were on jeeps were yelling at them to retreat behind the White Noise Cannons as well as giving others space to prevent other injuries. The giant sauropods that were present knew better than to stick around to risk being slaughtered by an army and fled for safety. Up ahead, the retreated dinosaurs went into the walls of Temporary Park for safety or towards the back where there was more space. At the moment, a large cluster of at least two hundred was gathered, watching with horror as these bloodthirsty beasts came for them.

At last, they made it behind the Cannons. First it was Ellis and Espantos, followed by Chris on Alyssa, Daisy and Hanna on Kerato, and then Hazel and Aladar. When they came through, everyone else that was present for Nero's test, including Nero himself, bypassed the borders. It was not long until the last of the refugees barged their way in.

"Ellis! Do it now!" Hazel ordered the head engineer.

The young man dug a small remote out and, with a yell, pressed one of the buttons at the top. The feathered predators that were a few feet behind them skid to a halt, letting out agonized shrieks. They shook their heads wildly as the invisible frequencies hit their ears like tiny bombs. Those that were approaching from behind did the same as well, except for the large number that collided into others that were in front of them. The predators tripped and bumped into each other; it was an assault that neither of them had experienced before.

Everyone that was behind the lines of the White Noise Cannons were unaffected by the frequencies as they were only directed towards the outside. They could hear these screeches, and while they were grating, did not affect them as much as they did to the Albertosaurus. The only ones that were unaffected were the humans present. They watched as these beasts suffered through this torture.

Moments passed and the hunters quickly backed out of the way. In the case of those that were on the ground, they quickly got up before doing the same. As soon as they did, every single last one of them retreated. The ones that were in the far back felt the effects of the White Noise Cannons before following their comrades.

As quickly as the wave of carnivores came, they were gone, falling behind the Alaskan fog. The roars and screeches they created soon died down into a still silence. The machines died down when Ellis confirmed they were all gone.

Cries and whimpers sounded off from behind her. Stealing a glance, she could see several herd members, both from here and her home, were sobbing. Some were consoling each other with quietly while others were doing their best to not break down, something they were failing at. Hazel felt bad for them; they came here for sanctuary and yet they now had to contend with attacks like this.

When she looked ahead again, the fog partially lifted. The woman had to avert her gaze when she saw why there was sorrow; about twenty dead _Pachyrhinosaurus_ lay out in the distance. She let out a sharp breath when she noticed some having a darker skin tone and blue patterns on their frills. Nearly a fourth of them had come from Aladar and Neera's herd.

She noticed Aladar look down, shutting his eyes from the disturbing sight. In the short time he was leader, his herd had suffered little to no casualties, only coming from natural causes in migrations. This was the first time he was suffering such a loss. It was like the event of the first Fireball all over again for him.

Thinking back to Patchi, Juniper, and Scowler's story of their migration into this valley, she recalled that they had suffered huge losses from both _Albertosaurus_ and a heavy flood. Today, the number was significantly smaller from what they described.

The casualties were painful, but at least they were few. And mostly everyone made it out alive. That was a victory in itself.

Hazel took out her radio and proclaimed her next order, her gaze fixed on the dead right outside the park border.

"Hazel to all staff members; the predators have retreated. We're all clear. All engineers, I want you to start with moving the borders further down to accommodate our...guests. And I want it done before dark."

It was the best thing they could do now. With the threat of huge predators outside the park borders now known, there was a huge possibility that they would linger around for a chance to get at anyone. The Residents here would not want to venture out to eat and drink with these hunters roaming. The reason why this _Pachyrhinosaurus_ herd came here was not only out of instinct, but it was to escape the predators that were after them. Now that they followed them here, nowhere else is safe.

Not unless they decide to go back to Prehistoric Park with everyone else that is.

Then there was the other point of concern; they lost loved ones and the possibility of them wanting to avenge them is high. Deciding to go off getting revenge is not the answer and is certainly a suicide mission. The only thing they need to do now is to uphold everyone's safety and survive through the winter until the portals are re-synchronized. She would need to bring this up with all of the herd leaders later.

Hazel dismounted off of Aladar after he informed her of wanting to check on his family as well as the rest of his herd. She understood his concerns and let him go on his errand. He had a job to do. Right when he left, she and the rest of her group were approached by Patchi, who had a sorrowful look on his face.

Before she could say anything to console him, Daisy had beaten her to it when she pulled out her radio to give her own orders out.

"Attention all vets on site. We have critically injured that need help. I need you all to set up separate sections in the warming tents in the herd grounds."

The ceratopsian alpha was taken by surprise by the human's command. The Grecian woman approached him and gently stroked his knobbed nose. "Don't worry. Your injured friends will be okay."

Patchi breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. They may not have been in this valley for very long, but he could rest easy knowing that his herd was in good hands, at least for the moment. He departed from the group, intent on rejoining his family after this harrowing episode.

With that taken care of, Hazel proceeded to leave the vicinity to begin her planning. With this new development, safety protocols, both inside the park and outside, would need to be intensified. She was stopped by an angry Chris, who was then followed by an equally concerned Ellis, Daisy, and Hanna.

"Get out of the way," she told them all, keeping a straight face on.

"I don't know what the hell was going on through your mind, but that was completely ludicrous back there!" Chris criticized severely.

Hazel glared at him, not taking his accusations lightly. "Ludicrous? You mean those Pachys that chose to fight? Excuse me, but I was concerned about them too! Aladar and I tried to get them to retreat, but they did not. They CHOSE to stay behind!"

"We could have helped them!"

"Yes, but what about the hundreds of _Albertosaurus_ that were coming? Do you think we could take them on the way we were? We had no plan! The casualties would have been greater! Use your frigging head, Sinclair!"

Hazel sighed, trying her best to keep her cool despite her temper rising. "We didn't have a choice. By staying, we would have died. And if we died, then the park has no chance of surviving through the winter."

Chris rolled his eyes at the pathetic excuse. "Yeah but that's if we didn't do things right! If you just gave us a chance, then that wouldn't happen!"

"Not everyone can be saved!"

Her attention from her apparent rival was deterred when she heard crying. Looking over to the left, she saw Daisy crying. Her hands were wiping the tears from her eyes and her gasps had turned her breathing into erratic patterns. "We...we left them to die!"

The furious park leader huffed. She marched up to Daisy and grabbed her hard on the shoulders, making her yelp. "Daisy. Daisy look at me."

She did not get any response as she only got more sobs.

"Look at me!" Hazel demanded, causing the vet to cease her crying, though tears still fell.

"This world isn't the 21st century. We're in the Late Cretaceous, separated from our home by a temporal distortion. Here, mercy is nearly non-existent. The only mercy anyone is going to get outside these walls is in a predator's stomach, being ripped to shreds, stabbed by claws, or crushed to death. It's a dog eat dog world. And if anyone manages to get away from those, then they could freeze to death, starve, die of thirst, or get sick."

The young vet whimpered, irritating Hazel on her emotional weakness. "Wake up White. This is no fairy tale where everything goes the way you want. This is the real world."

She released Daisy forcefully, the young woman sobbing once again. Ellis took the initiative to step up and comfort her. The vet dug her face into his chest as she cried. The younger Rey sibling gave his boss a disappointing glare before turning his attention to the distraught Daisy. His hands softly stroke her hair.

Hazel, ignoring the emotional scene, shook her head and walked away, but not before giving them one final warning. "The next time anyone questions my decisions will face serious consequences."

Shocked by the appalling threat given, neither of them said a word as they watched her go. Of the whole time they knew Hazel, she had never acted so cruel before. When she first met Chris, Daisy, and Ellis, she was a warm and welcoming person. For Hanna, she only knew her sister to be the kindest, selfless, loving, and most supportive person in the world next to her parents. Cold and heartless were words that would never describe her.

The only thing they all thought of as the night approached was one thing: What had happened to bring about this new Hazel?

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The humans present were not the only ones to be appalled by this new Hazel. Nearby, just a few feet away, were Aladar and Flia. Both of them were about to go and check on their family and friends when they overheard this conversation. Concern, worry, and disappointment were all that dominated their thoughts.

The cruel lecture Hazel had given her team sparked a memory long since forgotten to the two of them. It was their first migration together, shortly after the first Fireball and while Kron was still leader. Only a day had passed since they first started their trek through the scorching desert dunes. A _Struthiomimus_ had fallen behind and was about to be devoured by a pack of _Velociraptors_. Hazel, Flia and Aladar stepped in to try to save him, only for them to get outnumbered. The runner had told them to run while he ran in the other direction. The pack, seeing an easier target, went after him, giving the two of them time to escape. By the time they made it back, Bruton was there to reprimand them for their foolishness.

Hazel took the worst of it as she defended Aladar and Flia by proclaiming it was all her idea. She claimed they only came along to protect her, but in truth, they shared the same idea.

"Your innocence is a liability to the herd. Be thankful that I am the one telling you off and not Kron. If he were here, he would have left you with those predators. You're lucky that he's letting you stay with us. If it were up to me, I would have kicked you out myself. But you're needed, so don't squander it! This is the real world, kid. The world you come from is long gone. Here, the world won't give you mercy. Now toughen up and get back with the herd!"

The two of them thought she had forgotten it. She never showed signs of trauma from that instance nor did she bring it up with anyone. Hazel had brushed it off, accusing Bruton (and indirectly, Kron) to be hatemongers on steroids. She didn't let that bring her down.

But hearing her confront her future team was like a coincidence. To them, it was like that day had happened again.

To make matters worse, Kron had acted like this too. He was strong yet just in his younger years. Then trauma of losing his mentor and much of his herd along with the Fireball had hardened him. The both of them hoped that Hazel would not fall down that same path. But now, it would seem their fears were coming true.

The two looked at each other, fear and worry emanating from their eyes. They needed to do something, or else they were going to lose her to her madness.

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Later that evening…

Beth had no idea what was going on. One minute she was leaving the bistro after having a late lunch/early dinner and the next, she was told by a couple of rushing employees to take cover in the barracks. Considering that she was in a whole other time period, she did not question their judgement and made her way back to her room.

While most of the other rooms were accommodating up to five people even though they were made for two or three, her and Hanna's room was surprisingly unaffected. When she arrived, she found herself to be the only one there. Where was Hanna? Hazel would not be here, not with her duty as leader plus she may have her own place to stay. Hanna had mentioned that she and Hazel were going to do an exercise nearby today.

Beth worried all the more as she thought about her children. Were they okay? Did they hear about this emergency? Where were they at? Those were questions that bothered her, but she could do nothing to sate them. Her phone was useless during this time period.

She waited there, pacing around or taking small catnaps while waiting for any sign to tell her that this emergency (whatever it was) was clear. It only took about an hour before she heard from the four girls next door that the emergency had cleared up.

She questioned them on what had happened when she stepped out. Her eyes grew wide when she heard that there was an attack outside the park borders. She asked more about it and learned that an army of huge predators had ambushed the unsuspecting herds. There were few casualties, but only on some _Pachyrhinosaurus_. No human had gotten hurt.

Beth inquired if the alpha Pachys were hurt, particularly Juniper and her family. One of the girls shook her head, saying that the death of one of the alphas would have already spread throughout the park by now. And nobody reported seeing a pale _Pachyrhinosaurus_ or any younglings in the mix of corpses.

She breathed a sigh of relief, happy to hear that they were okay. Ever since their first meeting, Beth had been spending more time around Juniper and her children as well as Plio and her family. She found kinship with them and was surprised to find herself socializing with the very creatures that she had a negative disposition towards in the first place. With their similar personalities and sharing stories, they became friends.

While she was glad that they were okay, a new worry arose. What of her own children? While she was glad that none of the staff were hurt, she could not help but worry about her daughters again.

Thankfully, her worry was alleviated when her door opened. A dirtied yet exhausted Hanna wearily came in. Her bow fell from her left hand and she dropped her quiver on the floor, not bothered about the scatter of her arrows.

Beth embraced her child, happy to see that she was okay. Only, she seemed far from it when she looked at her face. Her eyes seemed sullen and tired. It also seemed to be marked with bits of dirt and sweat.

The teen broke down into tears as she tightly hugged her mother. Beth returned the embrace and calmly asked her what was wrong. She hoped that nothing bad happened to her eldest daughter.

Hanna told her the story. Motherly fury erupted when she heard that her youngest daughter had been undergoing a series of rigorous workouts led by a dinosaur the passed few weeks. While she was impressed that Hanna's archery skills had improved, her anger came to a peak when she was told that she went through an arduous test; the exercise that Hanna mentioned earlier. It was a test that she, her teammates, and sister failed, all because her sister proved to be a terrible leader by leaving everyone behind.

Hanna then explained everything that happened with the forest incident and the ambush. She did not skip a beat nor did she leave out any details. When she was finished, she dug her face in her mother's chest and sobbed again.

How could Hazel treat her sister like this? How could she treat anyone the way she did today? She was not one to act out horribly.

Beth sighed sadly. Her eldest must be going through a hard time. And she could not help but think that she had a hand in this change of behavior.

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A large group of _Albertosaurus_ stalked into a clear glade, quietly growling in satisfaction. Their feathers were doused with patches of blood, but neither of them minded the mess. It had been a while since they had a feast.

For days they stalked through the cold landscape, hunting every piece of prey they could come by. Hunger drove them on like in an incessant drive. The herds they pursued had fled far towards their Feeding Grounds for the winter. But the herd of horn heads in this valley was what interested them.

Hundreds of tons of meat. More than enough to sustain them for the winter. They felt in their guts that this winter was going to be a hard one. They chased this prey from their home and followed them to this valley. Other prey were here, and most were unfortunate to meet them. A quick ambush attack was all it took to get a kill.

The valley was a feast. At least, it was an easy feast until earlier that day.

They shook their heads, their bellies too full to let them move any more. They hunted much today, and rest was what they needed.

Suddenly, the rustle of leaves and twigs breaking betrayed their solitude. Dark shapes surrounded them. Menacing eyes met their wary ones. Their vision adjusted to reveal predators much like themselves.

More of their kind?

Two of them took a few steps back to allow another to approach them. This time, it had blue scales with grey markings along the back and a light brown underbelly. Like the others, it had two sharp crests above its eyes.

The stranger's mouth curved into a devious smile, revealing sharp teeth that glinted in the dark.

"You fellas lost?"

That was the final thing the stranger said before he and his gang killed them all.


	24. Winter Has Come

**_A.N. Yes the title is based off of a certain TV series. We don't own the title. Please don't come after us with torches. And yes, the chapter is short, but still foreboding...mostly._**

 ** _Disclaimer: We don't own Prehistoric Park, Disney's Dinosaur, Walking with Dinosaurs 2013, Walking with Dinosaurs BBC, March of the Dinosaurs, and Dinosaur Revolution. We also don't own the music._**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

Hazel was busy with supervising construction of the walls around the park when it happened. With the _Albertosaurus_ attack that occurred just days ago, Temporary Park needed the all the defense it could get. She instructed employees to put in more spikes around the bases in hopes that it would provide some protection. Then she had to knuckle down on scheduling guard duties to every person and Resident capable of doing such a task. Any heat source was to maintain operation for the duration of their stay, something that was obvious. She also had to be stricter on curfew rules; no Resident was allowed outside the park passed 3:30. The next thing on her list was to have Flia and Alex do daily sweeps around the valley to check on any large predators in the area; the main reason was to get a good estimate of how many _Albertosaurus_ they were dealing with.

At least, that was the plan until groups of dinosaurs started to gather at the west side of the park. They first started off as Patchi and Juniper's herd, but then they were followed by Aladar and Neera's, most likely because they wanted to see what was going on. Soon after, any Resident that was roaming around was gathering in that area, along with any other employee that happened to be present.

Hazel hitched a ride on one of the ATVs and drove to the growing crowd. She meandered around the other Residents, all the while trying to get an answer from them. Her answers were fruitless.

She looked up at the sky. Something in her gut told her it had something to do with the time. Was there something spectacular happening? The clouds were a dark grey, covering much of the prehistoric heavens. She could barely make out exactly what time it was, but since she could still see without artificial light, it must be prior to evening. It was getting a little dark though; it was getting close to the newly adjusted curfew. Hazel had to turn on the ATV lights, since darkness came rather quickly in this time.

When the woman skidded to a stop a considerable distance from the crowd, she came across her elder friends; Baylene and Eema. Following the _Styracosaurus_ in a quickened gait, at least for his species considering they had all that armor, was Url. Considering the speed they were going, it did not take long for her to catch up to them.

"Hey guys!" she called out to them.

The elder herbivores turned to her. Their reactions were of relief when they saw the small human approach. It had been a while since she interacted with these three. Her duties as leader had made her pretty busy.

"What's going on?" she gasped, catching her breath. "Why's everyone gathering here?"

The ceratopsian elder shook her head. "Missy, you are asking the wrong lady."

The giant sauropod craned her neck down until she was close to her eye level. Hazel had to look up a little just to make contact since she was a little further from her. "We found everyone like this and wanted to investigate for ourselves."

"Well whatever it is, it's a pretty big deal."

With that said, she made her way towards the crowd, but not after checking on Url, who needed a much needed scratch under the chin. She made her way passed the hulking Residents, their legs thick enough to squash a human if they made a wrong step. The smells of each of them hit her nose, but they were smells she had grown accustomed to. Any horns, whether rounded or protruding, she avoided. Her radio had erupted with people issuing orders and conversations regarding this new event. She had to let them know to remain calm and to make sure that they gave each other ample space. Any Resident that was wandering passed them needed to be directed back towards the crowd; nobody wanted to risk a surprise attack at this moment since they were so close to the White Noise Cannon border.

When she finally made it to the front, she went a bit of a ways passed them and turned. She tried to find a hint of orange or pale beige among the Pachyrhinosaurs. She found no hint of the Alaskan alphas, but she did find someone else at her 2:00.

Hazel rushed up to the green ceratopsian, startling him in the process. With everyone in danger, he had been alert to his surroundings, including whoever approached him.

"Hey, it's Scowler, right?"

"Geez…it's just you," he made his namesake scowl to her.

Ignoring that reaction, she proceeded on to get an answer from him. "What the heck is going on out here? Why is everyone gathering?"

"Leading shrimp, you mean you don't know anything?" he asked in a demeaning manner. Whether it was because he was in a bad mood or he was guarded, Hazel did not care.

She did, however, get miffed at what he called her. Hazel never liked being called short, even though there was nothing wrong with it. She controlled herself and kept a calm composure. "Apparently I don't considering I'm not from around here and neither does everyone else who is not part of your herd."

"Right right, how could I forget your little problem?" Scowler realized in a sarcastic fashion. "Well since you asked, this sort of thing is something our herd does every year. Somehow, we know when this kind of thing is going to happen. Call it a 'Gut Instinct.'"

"Well what's happening?" she outstretched her arms to prove her point. "What is your 'Gut Instinct' saying?"

He rolled his eyes, annoyed that she did not understand him. "Why don't you check out the sky? Notice anything?"

She looked up again. It was darker than before. Twilight was coming. Everyone needed to retreat to further behind the borders. But why was everyone gathering?

There was one logical guess she could make, and her answer showed itself when they passed the mountains, clouds, and trees. Hazel turned to see dark yellow-orange beams shining. The great ball of fire hid behind the mountains and trees.

"It's sunset?" she guessed.

"That's the thing, shrimp," Scowler snorted almost gravely. "It's the last sunset of the season. Normally it's an okay occasion and neither of us minded, but considering what's happened over the past few weeks…well…"

Hazel gasped. Her insides filled with dread at what he was referring to. She turned to him, apprehension clear on her features.

"You mean...what's happening right now is...?"

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Hanna and Beth were muscling through the huge crowd, doing their best to avoid getting stomped on or accidentally stabbed. While Hanna had been through this before, this was new for her mother. Beth had a creeping sense of claustrophobia being around giant creatures that could hurt her with a wrong move. The Veran mother had to grip onto her daughter's hand to prevent herself from getting lost in the masse.

Because of the cold weather, Beth had opted to use warmer outerwear. In this case, she wore a thick, bright green coat with thick black gloves and a thick, yellow scarf. Underneath were two layers of clothes consisting of thermals, a red turtleneck, and denim jeans that an employee allowed her to use. The black long boots she was using were also courtesy of the staff. Even with all those layers, she had some packets of warmers in her pockets, just in case.

They had a close call when they came across Bruno and his Tribe. The two of them nearly ran into the leading Therizinosaur's scythe-like claws when he turned. They heard about them being ornery and having a sort of "hulk-speak" as one employee coined the term. In other words, making them angry would result in them going into a rampage and causing serious damage, casualties being the worst case scenario. They quickly went passed them, not wanting to cause any trouble.

Minutes of ambling around the Residents and they managed to get to the front. They looked at the horizon, where they saw a beautiful sunset amidst the dark grey clouds and darkened mountain range. They shuddered when another cold shill hit them.

Wanting to get back towards the clustered crowd for warmth, they came across Juniper and her children, along with Plio and her family over to their right. The familiar individuals sent the two humans running to them for safety.

"Juniper! Plio!" Beth called out to them.

The families looked over at them and found themselves looking at two exhausted human females.

"Beth!" Juniper smiled at her, despite the precarious situation they were now in.

"What's happening? Why is everyone out here?" Hanna asked them, gripping her bow in case there was danger.

"It's the sun," the pale ceratopsian told them. "It's setting for the last time."

The two of them glanced at each other. Worry was now etched on their faces. Weeks of apprehension had brought them to this moment. They never lived in Alaska or visited the Arctic before, but they knew what that meant. As another cold wind blew, the two women huddled up against for Juniper for warmth while being mindful of the younglings around them.

As they stayed next to her, they found Plio, Suri, Zini, Aya, and Yar climbing down to them, all of whom were using the special thermals and blankets the vets made for them. The women opened their coats and allowed them to climb inside; their outerwear protecting them from the harsh, freezing elements of the encroaching darkness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

While the employees and the Residents were getting worried about what was happening, Ellis and Daisy had another issue to contend with at one edge of the crowd. Mainly, it was a certain avian who would not sit still.

Espantos had been riled up since that morning. He had been trying to run out of the park for hours. Daisy theorized it was due to some natural bird instincts to migrate away from cold weather, though that did not explain why he did not do that the whole time they were in Temporary Park. He had stayed put with the other Residents. Knowing Espantos, he either had a hidden loyalty to his friends or he deemed it safer to stay rather than run. Or it could have been both.

Ellis internally laughed. It was actually because of Espantos' antics and the uneasiness in the air that had caused their training session to be cancelled for the day. Because of his manager's failure to complete their test properly the other day (something he was still miffed about), plus that whole fight they had, he along with the rest in his "team" had to endure more grueling sessions with the ornery _Iguanodon_ and "pretty-face" Sarge. His body still ached from yesterday's harsh exercises, so today was considered a blessing.

Until this crowd got here.

He and Daisy had managed to round up the speeding Espantos with a makeshift rope leash. With several tugs (and help from an ATV), they rounded him up and tied the rope around Kerato's horn. Oddly enough, the wooly rhino was being fairly cooperative. Doing so had created a primitive handcuff.

Daisy came up with that idea. And it certainly was a good one. Every time Espantos fidgeted, Kerato gave him a glare and snarled. The hyperactive carnivore fell quiet, not out of fear, but he assumed it was some kind of game.

"There…that should do it," Ellis breathed after making one final knot around Kerato's horn.

"Ellis," Daisy gasped, exhausted. "Have you been feeding your partner lots of vitamins secretly? I think he's gotten a lot stronger."

The head engineer shook his head. "No, I haven't been doing that. I don't even know where the vitamin storage is; otherwise I'd be raiding it for some Vitamin C. We're just exhausted from our training session."

"I don't know why everyone is like this," the head veterinarian remarked as she looked all around the crowd. One minute, I was giving some medication to a sick _Parasaurolophus_ , and the next, everyone else is gathering outside. Do you know what's going on?"

Ellis shrugged his shoulders. "Hey I'm on the same boat as you."

"I didn't know there was a party out here!" Espantos cried, sitting down impatiently. "How come I wasn't invited!? Nobody invited me!"

The young man turned to his assigned partner, frowning. "I don't think it's a party, buddy. This doesn't seem to be a good one with how the air is."

The Terror Bird sniffed the air. "You mean the musty, sweaty, and stinky smell from something big and furry?"

He yelped when he found an angry _Elasmotherium_ snarling at his face. His eyes went wide and he lightly laughed. "Oh…never mind."

"If you don't shut up, I'll turn you into a cold kabob," Kerato threatened deeply.

Espantos gasped with a smile. "That sounds so good right now!"

"Okay back to reality here," Ellis said, preventing to supposed brawl from happening. "Kerato, you know what's going on?"

The wooly rhino stared at him and snorted. His face became indifferent. "I've seen this sort of thing many times, though I don't pay too much mind to it."

"Well, what is it?" he questioned.

"Everyone here better brace themselves. It's going to get a lot colder and darker."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chris wished he had brought earplugs. While he was assigned to watch over the _Protoceratops_ sisters and were in the middle of the mostly dinosaur crowd (and were accompanied by a group of keepers to make sure nobody got too near the younglings), that was not the primary issue he was dealing with. He did not mind the cold too much as he came prepared _and_ he had lived in the northern hemisphere for most of his life. The ceratopsian younglings were all huddled inside a thick blanket. He was doing his best to keep them warm by holding the bundle tightly.

No, the real issue was the constant complaining coming from the pack of Jurassic carnivores that were right next to him.

Coming from a dry, warm environment, the _Dilophosaurus_ found this time to be most distasteful. They were shivering and constantly moving around like kids with tantrums.

"Will this huge party hurry up and finish!? I'm freezin' out here!" the grating Rae retorted shrilly.

"You think you're cold?" argued Lyssa, whose feet were fidgeting per second. "My feet are turning grey!"

"Your feet have always been grey!"

"Ladies, shut up!" hollered Duane, who seemed to be clawing at the sides of his face. If Chris knew any better, he may have been trying to claw at his non-existent ears out of annoyance. "I can't hear my own thinking!"

The head keeper rolled his eyes. He let out a breath and tried to focus his attention away from the frostbitten _Dilophosaurus_ , mostly by watching for the antics of the other dinosaurs around him. So far, they were huddling to each other for warmth while discussing about what was really happening. The news he heard was that the sun was setting for the last time.

Chris hid his distress in a tough façade. He knew what that meant. If that was really happening, then the park was about to go through a difficult period. The fall season would be nothing compared to what was coming.

The whimpering _Protoceratops_ bleated, complaining of the cold. He hugged them tighter to try to block out the cold for them. They needed to stay warm in this. If they got hurt in any way, he was going to hear it from the vets, Suzanne, and especially Nigel. He could handle Hazel; she was like a pushover compared to the higher-ups. But this was his job, and he needed to prove that he was willing to do what he was told.

Oddly enough, he felt something strange inside him as he hugged the younglings. A small, fluttery feeling that rushed through his body. What was this feeling? He had no idea. What he did know was that they needed protecting. If anything happened to these girls, his head would be on a plaque.

As he hugged the girls, the clamoring of the _Dilophosaurus_ got louder, with Spurlock telling his troupe to be quiet. While the leading Jurassic carnivore was doing his best to calm his pack, Chris still found it annoying.

"If everyone doesn't shut up, I'm going to lose it..." he gritted his teeth as he did his best to tough out the cold wind that hit him.

That was when his radio went off. His stomach fell when the voice of the park leader spoke with what he had been dreading.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hazel had no idea how much time had passed. Five minutes? Ten minutes? Whatever the case, it did not take very long for the sky to darken. The rays that signified the day's heralds were quickly disappearing, dimming with each moment. The clouds above them darkened too, as if they were the harbingers of what was to come.

Her eyes stayed glued to the horizon, transfixed on the receding sun. She hoped it would not set. She hoped Scowler was wrong. Their so-called "Gut Instinct" may have been just their emotions still psyched after that attack days ago. The park needed the sun; not just for light but also as a beacon of security.

Hazel's heart fell when the moment came. The beams went out. The light in the sky disappeared. All that came over them was a growing twilight. All became dim.

The sun had set for the last time in Alaska.

The herds fell quiet. The silence was strange, even from living with them for years. But it was an unnerving silence. This was out of apprehension. To compare, this was much like the time when Aladar and Neera's herd were in that canyon as Diablo came up to them. It was a familiar feeling; apprehension, nervousness, and fear of what the next day would bring.

They were going to be in darkness for days.

Hazel retrieved her radio and turned it on. Her voice wavered as she spoke into it. Regardless of what had just happened, everyone needed to be strong.

"Hazel to everyone. Find shelter immediately. Winter…has come."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile…back in the present…

A year had passed since Daniel had "joined" the ranks of Prehistoric Park. Things had been busy even though there were little to no Residents. With construction going on, the buildings as well as the habitats were all being expanded by a few miles down the valley.

Each of the enclosures had their barriers expanded to accommodate a much larger space. More plants, rocks, dens, as well as built-in ponds were being added. The newer employees had to study on plant care as well as how much food each of the Residents needed (the amount of food each needed was astounding). They also had to start creating enrichment items for large Residents, ranging from strength-based or use of intelligence (most of which were food-centered).

Then there was a vast amount space further towards the borders of the park that seemed to be too huge for an enclosure. According to Nigel, he had planned to have that place to be a "gathering place" of some kind. Already, staff has been working to make the grass grow. From what he heard, they wanted the field to turn into something like fertile grassland, complete with two lakes that border the stream that runs through the area.

It had only been a year, but Daniel made no progress in his mission. He had not found anything out of the ordinary in the park, except for a single female African Elephant that stood close to two poles in part of the park. For some reason, she had always been sad. Employees had done their best to cheer her up with activities fit for a pachyderm as well as parties and food. They did work, but only for a short while.

With the amount of construction that had been happening, Daniel found growth in himself too. He had to help with moving heavy objects like lumber and huge supplies. He also had to cope with having to rush from one park to the next when he needed to. All of which had made him stronger and faster. His time under the sun for long periods of time had also made him tanner. Most of the women that he worked alongside with had taken a fancy to him. He was not interested in any of them as he found them to be uninteresting. He wasn't planning on being in a relationship with anyone.

Well, maybe that was not accurate. There was that one girl he bumped into a year ago before he started this job. She was pretty good looking and seemed to know her way around. Hazel...it was a name that was not used a lot. Yet, it seemed to fit her.

He wanted to find her again. The S.A.G.E.S. database was on a global scale and he had experience with looking for people. But he did not need to look far to discover who she really was.

It was late at night after a hard day's work of moving props into one of the enclosures. He had the guts to go to Nigel's office to do some digging. He did not find much about the park, except for a few notes, some pictures of the employees, pictures of himself when he was younger, books on wildlife and prehistory, some office supplies, and his computer. He did try to hack into the PC, only to find that it was locked by a series of complex passwords _and_ a fingerprint requirement in the pad on the side. Extra security; he did not have his espionage supplies with him. They were all back in his room, which was on the other side of the park.

Daniel's search was fruitless. Nigel must have hidden his important things in some other area of the park; probably his room or a safe. Smart bloke...

His snooping was interrupted when he heard voices coming over his way. He recognized them to be Nigel and Bob. They were discussing about some travel route from the park, whatever that was. Daniel had to get out of there.

Before he jumped down to one of the pillars below the office, he found one of Nigel's pictures sticking out of a book. The agent took it and his eyes bulged.

Standing in front of those two weird-looking poles in that part of the park were the department heads; all of which were posing or smiling. Nigel was at the very front. To his right were Suzanne and Bob. Behind him, giving him bunny ears with his fingers, was Marcus. But it was the last individual that caught his attention.

Eyes beaming with a big smile, her hair tied up in a ponytail, wearing a grey tank with a white spaghetti strap, denim shorts, and black tennis shoes, was Hazel.

What was she doing here!? 7.4 billion people on this planet and he happened to find her in a photograph that was dated two years ago! What did she have to do with the park? She must be important if she was with Nigel Marven.

When he turned the picture over, he found his answer. The names of the department heads were listed, along with her name: Hazel Veran.

Veran! Just like Jacob Veran, Nigel's colleague! She did look a little like him now that he thought of it. She must be related to him; probably his daughter, a cousin, or a niece.

That day when they bumped into each other must have been a coincidence. He needed to know more about her. She may hold some clues to this park and what Nigel has been doing. This was a risky move, but he had to let HQ know about this. He needed more information.

Daniel scrambled out of the office before Bob and Nigel could get a glimpse of him. A rustle of branches and leaves got their attention, but they dismissed it as a bird.

The agent did not stick around to listen in on their conversation. It did not have any topics of interest to him. All they talked about was construction as well as the status of the vegetation or how much food is needed. Then they talked about workers asking for days off. Nothing that pointed towards what this park was really housing.

Daniel nimbly climbed down until he was at the forest floor. Thank goodness for long hours of recon training. As he made his way back to his room, passing by other workers who were milling about with their duties, he thought about what he had found. There were no clues to this place, except for the picture he was holding. Why was Hazel here? What connection did she have to this place? How does Nigel know her? How did the department heads know her? What business did she have in Johannesburg? And more importantly, what did she know about Prehistoric Park?

They were all valid questions, but he knew the answers would be hard to get. However, he felt like he was getting close to something.

Heh, who knows? He may get to see her again, though he hoped she was of the right mind. She had to be; he didn't believe her to be a criminal associate. When they met, he knew she would not do anything heinous. It was a gut feeling.

Still, he could not help but feel that there was something more to her and this place. Whether it was good or bad, Daniel had no idea.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nigel's Den…

"I'm telling you, going through the Congo is a great idea. It's a lot better than going around it."

"Yeah but that would mean having to go through dense foliage. The journey is going to take longer than expected."

"That's the thing. The Congo is dense. Not many people go there because of how uncharted it is. And that will give our friends an advantage of staying hidden."

Bob sighed, seeing the point of Nigel's idea. For the last half hour, they had been discussing the progress of the park's expansion, along with a few other issues. One of the topics had involved editing and finalizing a migration route for the herds in Prehistoric Park. The whole reason why this expansion was happening was mostly due to accommodating the amount of space for their bigger neighbors. However, they could not ignore their need to migrate. It was in their genes. Them being cooped up in the park was making them antsy.

To resolve that problem, the park turned to creating a satellite sanctuary, which would be located on the other side of the continent. Setting the area too close would not satisfy their need to move. Setting it too far would increase the risks of discovery and travel detriments that would result in Residents collapsing or dying. The idea was to make the migration long, but easy on them all. The chances of any predators coming after them is pretty low, considering none of the modern day carnivores would know what do with a dinosaur. The younglings may be in danger, so they would need to remain in the interior of the herd.

Nigel and Bob helped on mapping out the best route for the Residents to take. It would take them through miles of savannah and through the jungles of the Congo. Currently, the satellite facility was being constructed, which should take another year. By the time Hazel and the others in Temporary Park return, it should be finished.

While Nigel and his staff did their best to map out the best travel route, they also needed to account for their preventions from failing. They were not perfect and had their flaws. Not to mention the route would not be to everyone's interest.

However, it was the best they could do. Which led to Bob's other point.

"Nigel, what if our friends run into a tribe?"

The park leader eyed him, surprise and interest clear on his features. He never considered that part in their planning.

Bob scratched his bald head, his eyebrows furrowed with concern. "I mean, if they do run into one, that's going to cause some rumors to go around. I'm willing to bet some superstitions would be running about. Suzanne did a bit of digging and she saw that our travel route borders alongside some African tribe's territory. Don't ask me what the name is. I couldn't pronounce it."

"Hm…you bring up a good point," Nigel told him, his hand on his chin in contemplation. "I'll need to discuss with Suzanne on her findings."

"Alright," the head keeper sighed, but still appeared worried. "I'll leave that to you, but you know I share everyone's concern on our secret going out to the world."

"It won't. I can promise you all that," the world-renowned zoologist told him with a point of a finger.

"By the way, the rookies in the park are getting pretty antsy on what exactly they're working towards. Some are curious about the whereabouts of our friends and what they really are," Bob warned him lightly.

"Just keep them in suspense," his boss answered quickly. "They'll find out soon enough."

"Okay. I am a little concerned with your office being in the open. Someone could just waltz in here and just dig through your things and find the evidence."

Nigel chuckled, something that put Bob off a little. "Oh don't worry. I took care of all the evidence. Everything in my computer has been stored into a separate drive and a couple security measures have been put in thanks to Marcus. I've taken every single photo and note regarding our friends too. Besides, my office needed to be organized."

"Where'd you put all that?"

He shook his head. When he stood up and went to the bewildered head keeper, he pat him on the shoulder and proceeded to walk out of his office. "If I told you, then that would be spoiling it."

"Oh come on!" Bob chased after him until they were walking side by side on the wooden bridge. "Just tell me where it is. I can keep a secret."

"Nope."

"It's in Hazel's room?"

"Oh you know I'm not that crazy."

"The café?"

"No."

"The employee center?"

"I told you, Bob. I'm not telling you."

The two went at it for the next thirty minutes, eventually dropping the subject when they retired back to their rooms for the day. Bob did not know it, but Nigel had placed all the evidence in Old Gotama's Grove. It was the last place anyone would look. Everything regarding the park's Residents was in a locked safe, buried between two trees.

He thought it seemed fitting. Old Gotama protected the valley across time. He could protect its secret from prying eyes too.


	25. Breaking the Ice

_**A.N. Hey guys, Darksage here with the next chapter to LNoW. I've been a bit busy lately due to my two jobs and some other things. I've also been working on a writing project too (non-fanfiction). In other words, I've been trying my hand at writing my own novel series, with some help too. But fear not, I have not forgotten about this series. Thanks for your patience. Anyway, here's the next chapter to the LNoW arc. Enjoy!**_

Daisy pressed the red circle at the bottom of her phone screen. The time at the top started to go up by the second, signaling the beginning of the session. She sighed and relaxed herself before she looked straight at the image in front of her.

In the screen, there was a young woman with messy long hair and dark circles under her eyes. Her yellow and pink polka dot pajamas showed some wrinkles from her constantly moving in her bed after her failed attempts to go to sleep. Her room was dark, but if she had a bit more light, she would see that the two person bedroom was being occupied by three other girls. She and her original roommate were lucky to keep their beds; the other three girls had to use an inflatable bed on the floor.

She sighed and began her message in a near whisper, but loud enough for the camera.

"I am not sure how long we have been here. With all this stress that's been happening, all of the days have mixed in together. The nights are long and colder. Power is running at 24/7, but I fear the time when we will run out. I can only hope we don't. We still have enough resources to last for a while, but everyone is getting to...how do Americans say it? 'Everyone is at their wit's end?'"

"The infirmary is already packed as it is," she continued, "We have the injured _Pachyrhinosaurus_ who are still recovering from that _Albertosaurus_ attack weeks ago. Then we have the few Residents who are not used to the cold that are already sick with fevers, most of which are children. We're doing our best to help them all."

The Grecian woman frowned, downtrodden. "And worse…winter was now here."

She grimaced. "Things are not faring well for anybody. I am still feeling the bruises yesterday from Nero's training. My leader, Hazel, was supposed to be our manager during our stay here, as well as our new leader when we return home. But with how hard she has been working everyone, and how harsh she has been to my team, I don't think I would want her as a leader. It's because of her I'm going through this. Nero is making me fight him even more and he's fighting back…"

Daisy sobbed, covering her eyes to hide the tears that fell from her face. The past few weeks had been hard on her; she had little to no moment of respite due to the stress. "I can still feel the part of my chest where he swept me away with his tail. It still stings...," she cringed when she felt her left side of her chest, the part where he knocked her away with his head. While she sustained no broken limbs, it was enough to give her a dark bruise.

"Why is Hazel treating everyone like this? Can't she see I'm doing the best I can? That everyone is doing their best at their job? She's being unfair! When I first met her, I took her to be really kind and supportive. Now...I don't know what's happened."

"Kerato told me she's had her share of hard times. I know she's had experience in the field, but that doesn't mean she has to treat us like this."

The sound of a rustle brought the distressed vet to look back. In the darkness, she could see the shifting of a couple of the girls on the inflatable bed; the giant throw blanket moving as they stretched their arms. A few moments passed and silence returned once more. The girls returned to their seemingly blissful sleep.

Daisy returned her attention to the camera and spoke in a quieter tone, not wanting to wake anyone up. "I'm sorry," she said, stifling a cry, "I should go to sleep. The nights are long, but Hazel is working us hard. We've been losing sleep lately."

She took in a deep breath. "I am not sure how much longer I can take this. Kerato is telling me to stay strong. If I am not, then the vets that look up to me will lose hope too. For some reason, he has confidence in me. He was always rough to others, but not to me. I don't know why... I just hope tomorrow goes well."

With that said, she ended her session and turned off her phone. The head vet quietly made her way back to her bed, careful in not stepping on anyone's feet. As she climbed back into the covers and tried to enter the dark void of sleep, she dreaded the future that was coming for Temporary Park. Her stress had kept her awake in fear before she finally managed to slumber.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day…

"Come on, keep up Kerato." Martha spoke up as she made her strides.

"Yeah, yeah, keep your fur on Mammoth," the _Elasmotherium_ grunted.

The Pleistocene Mega-Fauna pair made their slow trek around the perimeter of their temporary home. The humans made significant strides into trying to make the late Cretaceous a home, or at least as comfortable as possible. Added to the fact that the Ellis human somehow sent the park into an everlasting winter night instead of an endless summer day, let's just say it put everyone on edge.

As the humans tried to reinforce Temporary Park's defenses, many employees and Residents were asked to help pitch in and assist where they can, which included the carnivorous Residents. While most of the Residents were used to the carnivores at this point, some of Patchi and Juniper's herd were still unnerved by their presence; more specifically, the punkish Rascal, the short-fused Broken Jaw, the brutish Diablo, and even the imposing Matilda to some extent, the carnivores that directly caused the past break outs of Prehistoric Park. However, they were forced to "suck it up" as the humans say because of their dwindling resources that were supposed to keep all of them safe. While they were uncomfortable with the situation, they were coping with it at the order of their leaders, or more realistically, were avoiding the carnivores like the plague, with the carnivores responding in the same way.

Martha was not bothered by this status quo change. At the risk of sounding arrogant, fighting off three of the four problems of the Park made the Mammoth _very_ confident of her abilities against the supposedly dangerous predators. And while Kerato hasn't personally fought against his large theropod neighbors, the Ice Age rhino wasn't concerned about them. The _Elasmotherium_ didn't scare easily. Even though Martha and Kerato were separate species, they shared one thing in common.

Ice Age Mega-Fauna were tough.

As another biting wind ripped through the area, chilling most creatures to the bone, Martha and Kerato continued walking unhindered thanks to their insulating fat reserves and thick fur. Sometimes, it paid being an Ice Age mammal. Even though their surroundings were shrouded in nighttime shadows, the Mega-Fauna pair navigated the area with their keen sense of smell and sound respectively. While they've never traversed this far north themselves specifically, their species were well adapted for many arctic conditions, including traveling in the near nighttime winter of the northern hemisphere.

Martha merely chuckled at her gruff companion, having become used to Kerato's behavior.

"It is a beautiful winter night, my friend," the Mammoth commented as she glanced at the serene nighttime setting of the Alaskan tundra.

"I do admit, I really miss the smell of an evergreen forest during winter," Kerato confessed as he inhaled a deep breath of what smelt like cedar wood. One of the downsides of living in Prehistoric Park was the sweltering heat of South Africa. They've learned to deal with it, but that didn't mean it wasn't uncomfortable.

Both mammals sighed nostalgically before moving on. During their trek, they encountered some local creatures. Most were rodent-sized pests that avoided being trampled underfoot. Some small carnivores, like _Troodons_ and the like, foolishly tried their luck and attacked the strange Ice Age mammals. This was met with failure as Kerato kicked them down and crushed them underfoot, or as Martha gave a flick of her trunk and whipped them into thick trees, undoubtedly killing them. This all happened without breaking their stride.

The Ice Age duo decided to take a short lunch break at their patrol's halfway point; at least, they _thought_ it was lunchtime. It was hard to tell with no sun to gage the time of day. The Mammoth and the _Elasmotherium_ browsed around the area for any vegetation to consume. Although they were in a different era, the Mega-Fauna managed to scrounge up something to eat. Martha found some permafrost that was filled with frozen moss and other low-lying foliage. Kerato faired a bit better by finding a slightly rotten bush and a sapling evergreen tree. As they both began to chew, both Mammoth and Ice Age rhino grimaced in disgust.

"Aw Spirits!" Kerato spat. "I forgot how rough tree branches tasted."

"Permafrost does have a resemblance in consistency to dirt," Martha managed to groan as she chewed around the half-frozen moss.

At their mutual disgust, both Ice Age mammals managed to crack a smile and chuckled in mirth.

"It seems our time in Prehistoric Park has spoiled us, Kerato," the Mammoth giggled.

The _Elasmotherium_ nodded. "I don't know when I started to become picky."

"Well, it could be worse," Martha began, "we could be breaking open trees and eating rotten bark and maggots."

"Your mother taught you that too, huh?" Kerato chuckled.

"I sometimes wish she hadn't," the Mammoth flatly replied.

The unlikely pair shared a laugh again. It was because they were rescued that they developed their distinct tastes. After their chortle, Kerato was the first to calm down to speak.

"Although, I do sometimes miss it," the _Elasmotherium_ said.

"Miss what, the struggle?" Martha asked rhetorically as she finished her giggling.

"Actually, yeah. Don't you?"

That line of thought sobered up the pachyderm as she considered the question. Even though Prehistoric Park wasn't as stressful to live in—past breakouts notwithstanding—Martha found the modern human's "civility" oddly backwards. Say what you want about Ice Age Humans, at least the Mammoth knew what to expect from them. Modern day humans were generally more docile and thought more about the world yet mostly did nothing when compared to their ancient counterparts. Martha blamed the domestication of the human's species.

"At times, yes," Martha reluctantly agreed after a while. "I do miss testing my strength against nature; my resolve against the elements."

Kerato grunted in agreement. Before he could respond, Martha continued.

"However, I am thankful to the humans for rescuing me and living in the Park," Martha said in gratitude. "My former Mammoth herd always believed that one's actions to protect the ones they love with their strength show how grand they are. I not only did it once, but THREE separate times against ancient carnivores! I mean, Spirits! How many Mammoths can say that?"

"A lot of creatures in the Ice respect strength Martha. That was the common thought among all of the creatures in our time," Kerato agreed. "It's the main reason why I hate how feeble humans are. I mean, how in the Spirits' names did those apes survive to where they are now?"

"It's because they are feeble that makes them stronger," Martha countered. "The humans being inadequate compared to beings like us makes them try to compensate with their tools."

"Bleh, humans are always the ones that seem to struggle for breath when not protected by their tools," Kerato dismissed. The large rhino found weak creatures nearly insulting to the creatures that earned their way to their positions in nature. Humanity just didn't seem to want to live by the natural order of things.

"Strength of body is not what Humans should be judged by. It is their strength of mind. Strength of heart. Like Hazel Veran." At the _Elasmotherium's_ scoff, Martha merely raised a brow before adding. "Or like your little ward, _Ntéizi_ _Lefkó_ was it?"

"You mean Daisy White? Ha! That's a laugh. I've seen blades of grass with more strength than that girl."

Martha just shrugged. "Who knows, that 'blade of grass' may surprise you and grow into something stronger than the both of us."

"You think you're so sagely don't you?" Kerato scoffed.

"I don't need to think, I _know_ how capable I am," the pachyderm giggled. She waved forward with her trunk. "Come on my friend, let's get back to the park and get some real food. I need something savory to get the taste of permafrost out of my mouth."

"Finally you say something sensible from that mouth of yours," Kerato said as he trotted after the kind Mammoth.

The new pair of Ice Age friends began their trek back to Temporary Park in order to get some better food courtesy of their Human caretakers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Temporary Park Bistro…

Chris took a sip of his Highlander Grogg coffee; the bitter taste of the drink refreshed his chilled throat. He shuddered at the warmth he felt from the drink, yet it was something he welcomed after what he endured today. In front of him were ten Reese cups, still yet to be unwrapped. From his experience, chocolate can help cheer someone up.

Due to his distasteful leader failing their field test, he along with the rest of his "team" was forced to undergo serious training by Nero in the freezing cold. And it was made worse with Sarge as the co-instructor. The Pachyrhinosaur's training regime was similar to Nero's, except they were forced to spar against him (and Nero) in the bitter cold. They also had to stand outside for two hours just to "strengthen their resolve" as well as punch and kick logs to build up their limb strength. Then there were the usual boot camp exercises like carrying rocks, jogging around the _whole_ rather than the Main Hub, treading slowly over the already frozen pond in the valley, and other things. It was a miracle that nobody was suffering from frostbite…yet.

Regardless of what they were going through, they all thought of one thing; this all happened because of Hazel.

Chris gritted his teeth. Just thinking of her was making his blood boil. He really wanted to break that pretty face for being so stupid back then. Had she checked her radio and let them fight the _Albertosaurus_ when they could, then things would have ended differently for them all. But no, she just had to mess everything up.

The keeper took another gulp of his coffee, ignoring the scalding feeling in his throat. In contrast to the brutal sparring matches against Sarge and Nero today, the burn in his mouth was a godsend. The same could not be said for his strained muscles, scrapes, and bruises he obtained. And tomorrow was going to be just as bad with more training and the possibility of an incoming blizzard. One of the many disadvantages of being in prehistory was the lack of weather forecasts. Because of that, the park has no idea what to expect in the coming days.

At least he's not doing any sparring now. He had the _Protoceratops_ sisters to look after; it being his duty to look after them and all. This made a nice break from the brutal morning. At the moment, he and the younglings were in the bistro, refreshing themselves. The girls were eating some dandelion salad specially provided by the chef; a nice treat to have in this time. While he had been busy with his keeper duties, Chris still kept up with his assignment to watching over the girls. He had taken Daisy's advice and started treating them nicely. He even ditched his whistle, as that proved to be ineffective to the girls. He played along with their games and took care of them; they never played any mischief on him in return. In fact, he found their antics to be somewhat adorable. At least that was one good thing that came out of this trip.

While Chris continued to mull over the past few weeks as well as dread the future, he failed to notice the girls approaching him from his right.

"Hey uh…mister?"

Chris looked over at them, slowly putting down his mug onto the white clothed table. He quietly watched the four girls, especially Prima, who was the one taking a few steps forward.

"What is it? You want to go to the bathroom? Or do you want to play again?" he asked with a hint of dread.

"Um…no," she shook her head. "We...well...we heard about what happened to you the other day, with that meany Mr. Nero."

"And we know you had a hard day today," said the three-spotted Territia.

"And you look sad too," the two-spotted Beta followed.

"You've been hard on us," their single-spotted older sister continued, "but we know you're doing your best to make sure we're safe. And while we can be hard sometimes, you've been sticking up for us. And when we heard that Mr. Nero and everyone weren't being nice to you, we wanted to change that."

"So we made you something," went the four-spotted Quara.

Chris stared at them, dumbfounded; his jaw falling agape. This was the first time he was being shown a hint of kindness. Sure, the other employees treat him with respect, but they were acquaintances. His higher-ups at Prehistoric Park were friendly, but he was not close to them. His future team members also respected him, with the exception of Hazel. Seeing the younglings that he was looking after do this for him was a complete surprise.

He watched as Quara ran under the table behind them, the table cloth wafting like a sheet ghost before falling still. A moment later, she came back out. In her beaked-mouth was a solid grey and red object.

She stopped in front of him and placed a small object on the floor. He bent down to pick it up. His eyes went bug-eyed.

In his hand was a palm-sized rock. It was smoothed into an elevated semicircle, probably one of the rocks found near the large mini-river outside. On its slate-grey feature was a crude smiley face that was drawn on by red paint; drops of it had fallen down from the edges after drying. The red that he saw was in fact a torn red, velvet cloth that was wrapped around its body.

To him, it looked like something a child would make in kindergarten. But that was not the one thing that put him off…

"What the…is this…?" he started, utterly speechless.

"It's you!" Prima giggled.

"We had a bit of help with it," her youngest sister, Quara, mentioned. "We told one of the vets our idea and she was nice enough to help us."

The two-spotted ceratopsian child giggled as well while wagging her tail. "She gave us this bright red sticky stuff called 'pant' to color it. Hehe, I used my tail to make your face."

Chris resisted the urge to smirk. He knew she meant to say "paint".

"We chose the color," said Territia, "and she helped with tying that red thing around the rock. You know, since we don't have hands," she lifted one of her feet up to prove her point.

Prima smiled sadly but reassuringly. "We wanted to make you something to remind you that...well...we believe in you, even if no one else does."

"Please don't be sad," her younger sister Beta pleaded. "We want you to be happy."

For the first time in a long time, Chris felt something inside him. He was being given kindness that he did not ask for. He was not met with mundane business responses, and certainly not brutal commands from a dinosaur trying to toughen him up. This kindness that he was being shown moved him; his heart felt like buckling. He was a person that kept up a tough façade, all because he did not want to appear weak. But this…this broke it. He never thought the annoying girls he was charged with looking after would warm up to him.

Either he did something right or something wrong to cause this to happen. Were they being hard just to annoy him or were they just playing with him? He did not have children, but these girls looked up to him like a parent. And seeing him sad made them sad too.

Then, he realized something. Bob told him that these _Protoceratops_ were practically orphans when Hazel and Nigel found them. He couldn't remember how their parents died, but that did not matter. They had no parents, and so far, with how he was looking after them, he was the only one that acted like one to them, save for the vets that sometimes watched over them while he was away.

It was strange, but he felt like he had a purpose around them.

"You really made this for me?" he inquired, showing them the rock.

They nodded. The young man felt his cheeks heat up and he tried his best not to show any reaction.

"Well that's…really nice of you. Thank you," he told them politely, trying to keep a straight face.

"Do you like it?" asked the eldest of the four.

Chris sighed. _"I can't believe I'm saying this…"_

"Yeah, it's cute," the keeper gave in, giving them a little smirk.

The girls bleated and cheered, jumping for joy at the positive news they got. Chris had to cover his ears at how grating it was. His training session this morning from Sarge and Nero yelling orders at him broke his hearing for a bit. Having two dinosaurs constantly screaming inches behind your back certainly hurt his head a bit too.

"Hey, hey, not so loud," he winced, rubbing both his ears and his temple from the mini headache he got. "I'm still recovering from that green drill sergeant and his pretty horned assistant screaming at me this morning."

"Oh…sorry," Territia said, her sisters hushing each other.

"Well, you four gave me something. I guess I should give you something too," he told them.

The girls looked at him expectantly as he got back up. They gave him a gift. It was only fair to give them something in return. He looked around, trying to see if there was something small yet appropriate enough for the girls; something he would not miss. And it was certainly a good thing they were the only ones in the bistro; if anyone saw how he was acting towards them, that would ruin his "tough guy" reputation he apparently built up.

He searched through his pockets, only to find nothing good for four _Protoceratops_ younglings. That was when his eyes fell back on his table, towards the Reese cups.

Chocolate. That was something any little girl would like, unless they had some kind of allergy or they hated it. He did hear stories of Espantos going crazy after eating chocolate, but none of the other Residents. Chocolate was bad for the birds and some of the other Residents like the theropods, the crocodilians, and the ornithomimids. He did remember that some of the employees mentioned a few of the other Residents eating a chocolate piece or two over Christmas break.

He was sure that chocolate should be okay for the girls as long as they didn't eat too much of it.

Sighing, he grabbed four of his Reese cups and laid them out for them. The little brown ceratopsians sniffed at the bright orange-covered candy. So much for having a nice treat to compensate the harsh morning.

"Here, these aren't much, but I hope you like them."

"Ooh…" went a curious Quara.

"That's bright…" Prima followed, inspecting one while pawing at it gently.

"What are they?" asked Beta.

"Reese cups," he told them. "They're candy."

Chris took the one that Prima was prodding at. Ripping one corner of the wrapper, he worked his way through it until he finally got the candy out. He then undid the brown cup covering at the bottom before laying it out to them.

"Here. Try one."

Prima, being the bravest of the four, stepped up to the odd, round object. She sniffed it, making an inquisitive smell. Having never seen chocolate before, this was a completely new experience for her. She licked it, making a wet melted track on the surface. Her eyes beamed.

"Mmm…that tastes good!" she took the whole thing in her beak and started to chew it up.

Seeing their sister like this had made the others want to get into the bandwagon.

"I want one!"

"Me too!"

"Me three!"

Chris rolled his eyes. His hunch was right. They loved it. He prepared the other three candies for them and the girls dove right in. He even had to get the other Reese cups that were sitting on the table. They may be herbivorous, but right now, they were like ravenous wolves.

As he watched them devour the candies, he could not help but feel something for them. He was warmer than before. He felt a sense of compassion, loyalty, protectiveness. Thoughts of keeping them away from danger and teaching them everything they needed to know pervaded his mind. The idea of seeing them hurt made him feel sour inside.

Was this what it was like to be a parent? Heck, he couldn't believe he was thinking that. He never thought he would be that, and yet, that was what he was now. These girls needed protecting and the other employees could only do so much.

From this moment, his sour afternoon had gotten brighter. Maybe he did make the right choice accepting that offer to work in that "fake" zoo. Maybe accepting Bob's offer to look after these girls was the right call.

It may have been dark and cold outside, but right now, it had gotten warmer for Chris.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ellis' workshop…

Ellis scanned the mini motherboard, trying to spot any more discrepancies. His pick and pliers twisted any loose cords or adjusted any part that was out of place. He had made a few adjustments to the circuitry and the voltage range, but other than that, it seemed ready to go.

He closed up the stun gun and set it aside before moving onto the next one. He had been holed up in his workshop, working on everyone's stun guns for days now, having some employees help him to lessen the load. The only times he would leave would be to eat, sleep, or go through that God-awful daily training session with Nero and Sarge. He instructed his associates to only contact him through the radio through most of the day, or night in this case, unless it was an emergency and they needed to knock on his door.

With the threat of a possible attack coming at nearly every moment, not to mention winter already being here, danger could come at any time. He and the other engineers under his employ had to adjust the stun guns to not only shoot the Taser wires, but also have a new feature; a shock bolt. It was one of the things his brother had been working on to revolutionize the stun guns. Wires were too much work to handle when broken, and that was something Ellis could agree with.

Marcus had given him a copy of the schematics before he left for Temporary Park. They were going to work on upgrading them separately to see what the best way was to adjust them. He wasn't sure how Marcus was able to figure out how to set up these guns; all he knew was that nothing was impossible for his older brother. He tested them when they were done on some soda cans he set up as targets. The empty drinks did not stand a chance.

It was violent, and it was turning the guns into lethal weapons, but they were necessary in upholding the safety of everyone. Hazel, while he did not want to deal with her, reluctantly agreed to the idea considering the situation they were in. As a safety precaution, he had installed a safety measure on the weapons which can only be unlocked with a code and with the leader's permission. When they get back to Prehistoric Park, the safety measure would be applied.

That was, if any of them got back in one piece.

"Damn…" Ellis grumbled as he got up, his hands on his back. He strained when he stood straight as a muscle in his back ached from sitting on his chair for so long. "My back is killing me."

Sitting next to him, preening his feathers, was his chosen partner, Espantos. The Terror Bird, now alert, perked his head up and gasped at the state his partner was in.

"Oh no! My Super Awesome Best Friend is not feeling good! Do you want a massage?"

While normally tolerant of his hyperactive behavior, Ellis did not want to get a massage/a set of severe stomps from the Terror Bird. He grimaced and replied as politely as he could.

"Uh…that's okay dude. I just need to walk it off."

With that said, he started to pace around his workshop to walk off the stress in his muscles. He checked the time to see that it was 7:14 pm; he had been in his workshop for four hours. Today was another hard one; with their grueling training session this morning and having to make sure all the systems in the park were running properly. And then there were Hazel's grouchy antics.

Ellis shook his head. His boss was hammering on him almost constantly. He dreaded every meeting he had with her, which usually ended badly. Honestly, she was cool when they first met, but now she was being a straight up asshole.

With her leading, Nero and Sarge's training, and winter now on them, plus his freezing limbs, he doubted anyone would make it through the four months. And this was mostly his fault too.

He rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming. He put everyone in danger all because of his stupidity.

As he kept walking, he failed to notice the Terror Bird he was chosen to watch over had been watching him.

"You're sad," Espantos pointed out, "I can tell."

Ellis made a weary, yet half-hearted, chuckle. "I think the word you're looking for is _stressed_."

"Want to talk about it?"

The engineer looked over at the Terror Bird. He didn't find the Miocene carnivore to be so attentive in an emotional conversation. Usually, everything would go over his head or he would interpret it as something else. While Ellis would find that to be entertaining/a little frustrating depending on the situation, he had no one else to turn to at the moment. His brother was not around, nor was any of the higher ups from Prehistoric Park. And his associates were not around at the moment to even listen to him.

Espantos seemed friendly enough…as long as he didn't tell it to the wrong people. Then again, he never did on his friend before.

He sighed. "Well, if it'll help."

Ellis took a deep breath and told him everything, all the while expressing his frustration and anger. "The boss lady's been giving me a ton of shit; both on work to do and how I operate. I mean, I get that everyone's stressed about winter and the situation that I got us in, sorry about that by the way. But that doesn't mean she should be bitchy to me about it! Can't she understand that I operate things differently? She's just piling all this crap on me! I may be the head of the engineering department, but that doesn't mean she should treat me like dirt! I REALLY don't know what my brother meant by her being super cool. If she's going to be the real boss of the park one day, then I don't want to be part of it if she'll be like this!"

His tirade done, the head engineer let out an exasperated gasp and fell on a nearby chair. Ellis breathed heavily, regaining some composure after expressing his bottled complaints. His chest felt lighter after saying all that, like a huge weight was alleviated off his shoulders, even if it was by a few inches.

"Okay…I'm done," he breathed, slumped on his chair.

"Can I talk now?" said Espantos, who waited patiently.

"Yeah…sure…" he waved dismissively.

"I have no idea what's going on."

Ellis slowly turned to the avian, absolutely stunned. After explaining his problem in full out detail, expressing his feelings on the situation, his partner just said he did not understand it at all? He found his antics to be hilarious and relatable, but this was far from it. Ellis liked hanging out with Espantos, but at the moment, he was seeing him as a detriment.

How could he not get it!? Was he speaking English at all? Was the communicator working? Now he could see why not everyone in the park likes him. He's a complete idiot!

Before he could explode at the dim-witted Terror Bird, Espantos spoke up in a surprisingly logical sense.

"But I do know that the Hazelnut is having a hard time too. She's not a mean lady, but she can talk like it sometimes. I know she doesn't mean anything she says, which is why I ignore her. When people are sad and upset, they say and do things that make others sad and upset. You may be my Super Awesome Best Friend, but I've known her longer. The Hazelnut is not mean. She cares about everybody."

Ellis stopped. He wanted to slap himself for his urge to hit the bird. He was surprised to find him making sense. In fact, he seemed to be the smartest one in the room, something that almost never happens.

He may have said all that stuff about Hazel not being that way, but she was not treating everybody right. So why in the world would Espantos think this way?

"Pfft, tell that to her," he scoffed. "What part of 'bitchy' did you not get? And do I need to bring up what happened when those _Albertosaurus_ came charging at our front door?"

"She's sad. She is carrying everyone on her back. All alone. I wish I can help and carry everyone, but that would be too heavy for me. They would all squish me," the innocent hyper-carnivore explained, albeit childishly.

The head engineer could not help but chuckle. His humor did something good for once at this moment.

"I don't know why everyone yells at me," Espantos continued, "But sometimes, I can tell they're sad in some way. And whatever mean stuff they say to me, I just ignore. What's more important is being me. And if they don't like it, then too bad for them."

Ellis stared at him; a sense of understanding came over the young engineer. He never thought of it that way. From what he was just told, it may just be accurate. Is the reason why Hazel was being so hard on him because she was having a hard time too? He never had a problem with his employees, except for when they are not doing something right and he had to correct them. But Hazel was leading a whole park; having to direct a lot more than just an engineering department. She had to work out relations between humans and Residents while making sure the whole sanctuary ran smoothly. And with their time displacement and not receiving help from anyone in the 21st century, that just made things harder.

He may not be the top dog in this place, but being a leader sounded like a hard job. It was a miracle he was not having such an issue with being at the moment. True, there were the issues like making sure the heaters and generators ran smoothly in this cold weather and making sure supplies were working properly. The "expeditions outside the park" spiel then upholding everyone's safety was things he needed to consider.

His job was stressful, that was true. Yet he had a way to deal with that stress. He took things as they came and made sure to work them out before they became a problem. He did things his own way, and Hazel needed to understand that.

"I see your point," he realized. "I guess I can try to tell her that, but I may lose my head or freeze to death if she kicks me out of the park."

"Well…if what you do makes her upset," the avian started, "Then maybe she needs help."

The Filipino leaned over at the small refrigerator on his right. All this talking had caused his throat to go dry. Opening the small door, he found himself looking at several contents like small snacks, sodas, and juices. Of course, being a fan of sodas, he went for a small green can of Mountain Dew. He closed the door, pulled the clip off, which made a small hiss, and ingested the cold, carbonated liquid.

"What, like a psychiatrist?" he partially joked after swallowing, though his boss may need that kind of treatment with how she was acting, "Because that may be what she needs."

"I don't know what a 'sigh chia pet' is," replied the clueless bird before leaning towards him in an invasive manner, "but do you know what I think?"

Ellis, who was not put off by this clingy behavior, responded. "What's that?"

"You're already my Super Awesome Best Friend. Why not be one to the Hazelnut?"

The younger Rey sputtered, his drink going out in a spray towards Espantos, who was unfortunately within firing range. The Terror Bird, while now drenched in soda and spit, seemed unfazed by the disgusting mixture. His feathers may be a little wet, but nothing he couldn't handle as they usually dried up in a short time.

"What-!?" cried Ellis who was wiping his face clean with an arm. "Are you kidding me!? Try to be friends with her!? That's like signing a death warrant!"

"That is what my tummy tells me. And my tummy never lies. Oh and don't worry, I won't be offended."

The human gulped, putting the soda on the ground slowly. His mouth had recovered already from his nasty regurgitation.

"You make it sound so easy."

The Terror Bird shrugged with his little wings with a smile on his beak. "That's because it is."

His partner sighed, pointing at the Miocene predator for a moment. "I really have no idea how you can stay happy after what's been happening. I'm just amazed all this stress hasn't made you go crazy."

"That's probably because I just ate," the zany bird replied. "You have not seen me when I eat that brown sweet stuff."

Ellis cocked a brow. Brown sweet stuff? What did he mean by that? He thought for a moment before he realized what he meant.

"Brown sweet stuff? You mean _chocolate_?"

"Yes! That!" Espantos pointed with one of his talons at the human. "Those tasty little rocks are yummy...but later on...well, I'd rather not say."

"What happens when you eat chocolate?" inquired the already curious human.

Espantos leaned in, invading his space once more. His voice, which was innocent and jovial a few seconds ago, became dark and grave. He spoke to him as if a predator did to a rival or towards something dangerous. "Something bad…"

Ellis, already put off by the warning, just whistled to brush it off. "Okay… no chocolate for you. Note taken."

Though he found that warning to be worth considering, he had no idea how Espantos was like if he did eat chocolate. He had just remembered his brother mentioning him a warning about giving the guy chocolate. Marcus did not tell him the details, but if he went on a chocolate rampage left unchecked, he could have destroyed the whole park within three hours. Ellis wanted to know exactly what had transpired, only to find his brother quickly changing the subject.

Then, as soon as he came in gravely, the giant bird pulled himself back. His glaring, leering eyes, which had apprehension, returned to a gleeful gaze. A smile beamed on his beak once more. It was as if the wary predator had up and left to be replaced by a child again.

"Well, I said what I needed to. I think I'll take a nap now," Espantos yawned before curling his neck against his body. "Goodnight!"

Moments later, snores erupted from the now sleeping avian. Ellis rolled his eyes, not understanding how someone could fall asleep so quickly after being so active. Then again, being Espantos, anything was possible.

The young man returned to his table, grabbing yet another stun gun for review. As he worked out the kinks and added the upgrades needed, he reflected on the talk they just had. Maybe Espantos was right? Maybe the reason why Hazel was acting like this towards everyone else was because of how hard her job was. And her need to protect her friends and ensure everyone's safety was clouding her own sense of judgement. If that's the case, maybe she just needs a helping hand. She has her future team and her friends. She shouldn't have to do all this by herself? Maybe the reason why she wasn't asking anyone for help was because doing so was a sign of weakness?

Then there was Espantos. He was zany most of the time, but as of this moment, he proved to be smarter than he let on. Perhaps there was more to this Resident that almost nobody knows. And many aspects of him, Ellis found he related on. He was lazy at times, but he got the job done in his own way. The same with Espantos; he had his own way of doing things, whether it was quickly or taking his time. He also annoyed everybody sometimes, the same with him. Getting paired with him was the right call after all.

Ellis returned his attention to the stun gun, opening the small panel to check the motherboard. Only fifty left to go…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Infirmary Warming Tent…

Daisy straightened herself, having finished getting what she needed. She noted down the results she obtained in her Resident medical log. The diminutive orange-pink _Microceratus_ she had been checking on settled in to sleep, but still shuddered at the chills it had.

The little ceratopsian had a high fever, much like the rest of her kind that were part of Aladar and Neera's herd. And she wasn't the only one. With the arrival of winter came another problem; those who were not used to the cold were getting sick. It was a fraction of Temporary Park's Residents, about a fourth of them.

The park's infirmary could not accommodate about seventy sick dinosaurs. The vets went with using one of the warming tents as the "offsite" infirmary, something that got approved by Hazel. There were heaters at the edges of the tent that were turned up to maximum. Outside, it may feel like negative 10 degrees, but inside, it felt like a tolerable 65; it was made even warmer with the Residents' body heat too. The lights hung in strands above everyone's heads, all of which were powered by giant batteries inside. This gave the inside of the tent a warm, secure feel.

This tent not only housed sick Residents, but injured ones too; a number of them were from the recent _Albertosaurus_ attack. The smaller infirmary in the main hub would be used for small Residents like younglings, small theropods, and small mammals, unless that too ran out of room or there were other reasons to move them to the large tent.

While there were many sick Residents, they were all infected by fevers and colds, nothing a prescribed medication, rest, and a stable diet couldn't fix. But more Residents were getting infected, and it was all because of where they came from. Scientists had recently discovered that dinosaurs were warm-blooded, thanks to evidence in bones and the fossil record. They were speculated to have grown just as fast as mammals, leading to the assumption they were warm-blooded. Originally, they were thought to be cold-blooded like reptiles, until a few years back.

It was funny, since Prehistoric Park had living examples of that new discovery. Any warm-blooded creature had bodies that could regulate their interior temperature. However, most of the Residents came from warmer environments, making this current environment challenging for them. The only ones that seemed to be stable, besides the Alaskan _Pachyrhinosaurus_ herd, were the ones that could withstand the weather through willpower and size.

With this dreaded season now on them, the Residents had been spending more and more time in the warming tents. The only time they would venture out in the freezing cold would be to eat and drink. While the tents were large enough to fit all the Residents, they all had to huddle together to accommodate the size, making conditions quite cramped.

This tent was no different from the others. Daisy felt overwhelmed when she stepped into this tent three hours ago. Everyone in this room had made her feel small, not just from their size, but from their ailments too. It was a good thing half of her vet team came to assist her when she called for them. The only consolation she got from her last three hours was the lingering warmth from all the Residents huddled in the room. That and the natural fact that humans couldn't catch the sicknesses the Residents had. There hadn't been any complaints of mosquitoes biting a human; that was something good from staying in a rather cold environment in a freezing season. And the mammals in the park were regularly checked for flea infestations.

It had been a busy three hours, but at least she did what she needed to do. Daisy had managed to obtain and check the vital signs of almost all the sick and injured Residents. The sick ones were already taking their medication and were recovering quickly, but it was only a matter of time before this number would increase.

She meandered around a group of huddled _Styracosaurus_ and _Struthiomimus_ when she came upon her next and final patient; a cold-ridden Mikiya. Staying close to her to comfort her as well as keep her warm was her protective adopted aunt, Martha.

"Well, it's only a cold with a minor fever, but nothing your body cannot handle. Some food, water, and rest and you should be okay. We'll also give you some medicine to help your immune system," Daisy said after she recorded the young elephant's temperature.

" _Asante_ (Thank you) Daisy," rumbled a relieved Martha. "I apologize if my niece gave you a hard time."

The Grecian woman wearily laughed. "No no, it was no trouble. _Min anisycheís_ (Don't worry)."

Martha made a scolding look at the now sheepish sick elephant. "I told her she should not play outside for too long, but did she listen? Nope."

"But Auntie!" the youngster whined. "My friends were outside playing!"

Her defense was toppled with a simple little sneeze; her trunk and ears waved for a moment.

The mammoth stared at her, her point already proven. "Yes but you are not fit for this weather. Had you listened to me, then you would not be sick."

"Aw…" went the disheartened Mikiya.

The head vet packed up her equipment in her grey, tin medical kit. With the latch now secure, she straightened herself, easing her muscles.

"Get some rest, little one," she told the sick pachyderm. "I need to get going."

Mikiya yawned. "Okay…"

With that said, the elephant snuggled up against her aunt, despite her best efforts to stay awake. Daisy briskly made her way over to the nearest edge of the tent, towards a large opening that was zipped up; her footfalls crunched under the canvas and plastic that served as the floor. The opening was about fifty feet tall; tall enough to accommodate even the tallest dinosaur. Around it were stairs and metal landings that employees used to get up and down that part of the tent. Like the rest of the tent, there were a couple of keepers here that served as security personnel, both of which were armed with Ellis' newly upgraded stun guns.

The only part of the opening that seemed off was the smaller portion that was also zipped up. It was semicircle in shape, much like a regular tent would be. This served as the entrance/exit for anyone that were either human or the size of a human.

Daisy informed them of her request. The two male guards allowed her to go through. She worked on the zipper at the very top and quickly pulled it down. A cold blast smacked her in the face, which she fought off by covering with her white wool scarf. She rushed outside, clutching her clipboard and kit; the flap behind her quickly shut with the help of the guards.

The woman shuddered in the cold air. Her face went numb from the seemingly negative temperature. According to the park's weather thermometer, the current temperature was 16 degrees Fahrenheit, but the wind chill made it feel like 4 degrees. Whatever the case, it was like they were smack dab in the middle of the Arctic Circle in this weather. Daisy was not accustomed to cold temperatures.

A white speck fell on her nose, chilling it for a moment before it melted. Looking up, Daisy could see dark clouds hovering above. The dry, cold valley was about to get a heavy dose of snow from the looks of it.

A snort brought her attention to her right. Standing unmoving was Kerato; his breathing made visible in the wintery air.

"Brr... _theé mou_ (my goodness), I'm still amazed at how you can survive temperatures like this. I wish I had a thick coat of fur like you," she weakly chuckled at the wooly rhino.

Kerato huffed indifferently. "I was born in times like this so I can handle it. You humans haven't experienced this sort of thing. It's only going to get worse here on out. You'd better bundle up."

"Right. I suppose I should wear more layers and pack extra warmers in my pockets," she responded with a shiver. "I hope this winter passes quickly. More Residents are getting sick. They can't handle this kind of weather."

"They need to be tough. It's the only way."

Daisy frowned. That one word set off a memory that she hard to be forgotten. Her training with Nero and Sarge made it difficult to forget that specific memory. She never told Hazel about why she, Kerato, and the others were late in coming to help her with rescuing Aeros sooner.

It was back during the test. She and Ellis were already out of the game, but they were surrounded by the _Dilophosaurus_ pack. Apparently, they were having a bit too much fun with having to treat them like actual prey that they took it a little too far by preventing them from going anywhere. The girls were making mock charges at the duo all because they enjoyed scaring them.

The two humans did not like it one bit at all. They knew of Rascal and his rude antics, but neither thought they would be harassed by a pack. They were about to break the rules and fight them off when Kerato came charging in. He had just been granted permission by Nero to do his part of the test when he found the two of them. He drove them off, warning them he would run them down if they hurt them.

Blaine and his pack had no intention of going up against an ornery Ice Age rhino and retreated, especially since they had not fought against something like him before. Before he left, Daisy could not help but sense a hint of concern from her partner. She could not explain it, but he looked relieved for a moment.

It was odd because he did not care for anyone at the park. Any human he came across, he only tolerated for a set amount of time before he drove them off. But for her, he had no issue with.

"Kerato?"

"Hm?" he stole a glance at her.

"Back during the test, you made the _Dilophosaurus_ step back. Ellis and I were clearly out of the game already, them already taking my red flag. Yet you stepped in and defended us. Why did you do that?" she inquired.

The horned megafauna sputtered, almost foolishly to make himself look tough. "Well...I thought it was unfair at how they were going at you when you already lost. So I did what was right."

Daisy spoke up again, not convinced with his answer. "Yes and thank you for that. But that's not the only time you defended me. This whole time we've been here, you rarely strayed by my side unless you went off to eat or drink. Why is that?"

Kerato made an uneasy glance at her. He stammered a bit, only to come out fumbling. "Well…it's just…"

"Is it because…you like me?" she said, though she hid the embarrassment on her features quite well. It was an odd assumption and she hoped he did not take it the wrong way. Fortunately, he did…sort of.

"What!?" he bellowed in shock. "Don't be dumb. You're partnered with me by Nigel and Suzanne. If you got hurt then they would give me hell, not that it would faze me because I could just run them down. Besides, I don't 'like' like you. We're not the same species."

The woman frowned, a little hurt by that. She knew what he meant, but she hoped that they would somehow find some kind of even ground or be a bit more acquainted. She and the rhino made eye contact; the megafauna went rigid when they did.

"I mean, yeah I think you're okay," he revealed. "We're not of the same kind but you…you're better than the rest of the humans."

Now that was a surprise. Kerato had never been social around anybody, especially for long periods of time.

"Oh? Why is that?" she leaned in curiously.

"Why are you asking these complicated questions?" went the Ice Age denizen who seemed like he was backed into a corner. "Can't you just take a direct answer?"

"That's strange because you're not giving me a direct answer."

Kerato froze, gawking. No words came from him. Daisy resisted the urge to smile; this was the first time he was backed into a corner. She mentally congratulated herself on a job well done with getting something out of him. No one else in the park knew this, but she had a way of verbally getting secrets out of someone, but only when the time called for it.

She continued, wanting to get even more. "You're almost always around me. You act agitated whenever I'm in danger. And you always act docile while I'm tending to you when you chase other humans out when they're done with looking after you. So I deserve to know what is going on."

Kerato sighed, finding that there was no way out of this conversation. He glanced back at her for a moment before looking away towards the bitter, wintery landscape. "Fine…I guess you do deserve an explanation."

He took a deep breath and told her his tale. "You...remind me of someone. Before I chased Nigel in that portal years ago, I was a loner. Life wasn't bad if you're a tough guy like me. The winter nights were cold, but nothing I couldn't handle. Nobody likes to be around someone who can skewer them easily or trample them. I was always alone."

"Then, I found myself crossing paths with your kind. I was minding my own business when I happened to come across them. They were settling in for the night. It was winter and my turf apparently had what they needed. I didn't really like them being in my area and was ready to chase them out when I..."

He stopped, his face turning sullen.

"What?" Daisy inquired with interest and concern. "What happened?"

Kerato spoke, breaking his uneasy silence. "I met her. She was small. Fair. Delicate. She was barely your age. Little thing was gathering some wood for a fire. Usually, when humans see me, they either turn and run or stand and fight. She just...stood there. I can't see well, but I could tell she was there."

"She didn't run, which interested me," he told her. "I came up to her and...she touched me. I never felt that feeling before."

"She was called back to her tribe that night, but that wasn't the last time we saw each other. I made my decision and followed them on their journey. I made sure to stay away from them, but close enough to them. She took notice of it and we spent nights together. She rarely spoke. I called her 'Flower', which seemed fitting enough. She gave me the name 'Kerato'."

Daisy went bug-eyed. She remembered that day when they first met, when she said that while tending to his horn. He had told her that was his name, but never mentioned it to anyone else. Well, she heard from Julie something about him meeting some Neanderthals before meeting Nigel. Now it all made sense! Someone had given him that name and she coincidentally figured it out without knowing.

Intrigued by the story, she remained quiet, not wanting to interrupt again.

"Flower tended to me; gave me some food, water, scratched places I couldn't get, and filed my horn. My horn kept growing after I started following her. In return, I made their journey easier by chasing out any predators. The humans had no idea why no predators came after them. We...'bonded' I suppose. Those were good days. I never had friends, but I guess you can call her my first one."

She was amazed. Kerato actually had a friend in the past. But what had caused him to be so distant to the humans in the park? Why did he abhor them so much?

Daisy did not have to wait long for an answer. Her partner growled, startling her.

"Then...that day came," he recounted with venom in his voice. "It was a cold night. The humans ran out of food. One of their huts fell apart. Turns out, it was the one Flower stayed in. She ran to me, huddling close to me for warmth. But she wasn't alone. Hunters followed her."

"They threw their spears at me. I could tell that they found out about me and wanted me for food and warmth. I didn't like that."

He snorted, all the while shaking his head. His large horn swiping from side to side looked like an upright scythe. "They charged at me. I killed some of them, but they got some good hits on me," he said with a grimace. Daisy caught him glancing over at his back; she shuddered at the thought of wooden spears sticking out of his thick hide. "I was ready to collapse. One of them was about to go for my head when...

Kerato looked away, growling. His face took upon a pained expression. She wanted to comfort him, but knew that would not be polite. She let him continue regardless.

"She stepped in. I lost her that day, but not before removing the spears from me. It was all because of a greedy human," he made a low snarl. "I killed him, but even that couldn't bring her back. I stayed by her body that night, hoping she would wake up and we'd go on like nothing happened. But she didn't."

The hulking _Elasmotherium_ went on, remorse dominating his voice. "I had to move on. My body told me to. My wounds healed, but I still hurt. From that day forward, I killed any human that crossed my path. That was until I met Nigel."

"I didn't get along with you humans when I came to your time, not after what happened. They were persistent in looking after me, hence why I didn't hurt anyone. Then...I met you," he eyed the quiet Daisy. "The rest you know."

He took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. "Well, now you know why-"

He was startled when a teary Daisy jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly, at least as much as she could as his neck width larger than her arm length. It wasn't hard enough for him to choke, but she certainly did have a grip. He was silent as she held on tightly, sobbing in his thick fur.

Daisy did not care what was happening. She did not care that it was freezing cold outside. She did not care that she was barely breathing through the thick fur. She did not care about how he was feeling about her being so close to him like this. His story touched her and it made her feel all the more sorry for him.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, finally able to look at him straight in the eye. Hot tears ran down her face, which quickly froze in the Arctic wind. "I didn't know you went through that kind of pain. It's horrible, what those people did. I'm so, so sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Kerato asked, hiding his sorrow in his tough façade. "You didn't do anything."

"I know, but you went through that. What they did was _tromerós_ (terrible). You lived through that kind of pain for years."

The wooly rhino nudged a little closer to her, something that Daisy found odd. It was almost as if he wanted her to hug him tighter. She did so as best as she could.

"Yeah, I guess I did," he said. "It's dulled down over the years. But when I saw you...well, everything about you reminds me of her. You know, come to think of it, after telling it to you, it's made me feel better."

The head vet let go of his neck and wiped the cold tears from her face. Him revealing his bottled-up feelings made her laugh. A tough guy like Kerato finally telling someone his secrets was not just surprising, but it was also happy, at least to Daisy. She never thought this would actually happen; she now knew him a lot better than before.

"It does help to talk to someone about your feelings."

Kerato chuckled for the first time she knew him, and he never chuckled. "I lost one friend in my life. I don't want to lose another. If it's alright with you, can we be-?"

Of course, Daisy smiled at that. He had finally broken through his cold exterior. "Friends? Of course! I would like that."

"Wow…" he shook his head, trying to frown again, but found it to be hard after what had just happened. "I can't believe I just did that. I don't do this to anybody."

Daisy giggled. "First time for everything."

"Well don't expect me to go soft all the time. Someone has to be tough for you."

"Oh really?" she put her hands on her hips. "I can handle myself…most of the time."

The two of them laughed together, sharing stories of past memories for the next several minutes. It may be freezing cold outside, but to them, it had gotten a lot warmer. Even if it was freezing, Daisy could snuggle up to Kerato for some warmth. Being a walking mat of fur and adapted to conditions like this, his internal temperature was always warm. Kerato enjoyed her company and for the first time in a long time, shared more about himself to another human.

As they spoke, Daisy could not help but think back to Kerato's explanation about Flower. Were they really alike? She was a Neanderthal and she was a Homo Sapien. She laughed at the thought they maybe they were distantly related to each other. It would be funny if she took a genealogy test and found some traces of Neanderthal DNA in her. Nevertheless, Daisy was grateful for Flower; had they not met, then she would never have met Kerato and gained a new friend.

The sky was getting dark when their reminiscing was interrupted by an employee calling on the radio.

" _Rachel to Daisy."_

Daisy sighed and retrieved the radio. Pressing the necessary button, she replied into the speaker. "This is Daisy."

" _Aeros is waking up. You may want to get over here."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daisy quickly made her way through the tent, weaving around the resting dinosaurs. Coughs and sneezes sounded off from different parts of the warm sanctuary; some being loud and others in small buzzes. She also had to take care in watching her step, as there were _Microceratus_ , _Stygimolochs_ , ornithomimids, as well younglings scattered about. She did not want to accidentally step on a limb either as that would cause some chaos.

There were two ways she could have gone to the other side of the tent. The first was going around the outside. The second was going through the warm yet crowded giant infirmary. Not wanting to freeze in the dark twilight, she chose to go inside. Kerato was fine with that, but he told her he would wait for her in the other side of the tent.

It took her a while, but she managed to get where she needed to go.

Lying just several feet away from a sleeping trio of _Struthiomimus_ and a _Pachyrhinosaurus_ was a certain male _Pteranodon_. The staff had set up a smaller tent around him to serve as a portable "operating room". His injured wing was actually clipped with several fractures due to crashing against some trees during the _Albertosaurus_ incident. The vets had to perform a couple surgeries on him due to the severity of the injury. _Pteranodon_ wings are similar to normal bird wings, just slightly different in structure. Still, the operations were a success. For now, they had to cast that part of his wing near his shoulder. Aeros would be off his wings for a while, but at least the recovery time was not long. The staff would have to feed him fish until he was back on his wings.

A cold chill hit her from behind, which died down as soon as it came. She shivered and grasped her hands in an attempt to warm them as she had taken off her gloves when she got inside.

Looking back, she saw the staff closing the opening to the outside, along with a shivering Flia coming towards her. While she was appalled that she was wandering outside in weather like this, she was more concerned with her being in this tent.

"Flia? What are you doing here? This is the sick tent. You'll catch something."

"I'm sorry," she shivered from the cold; her wings having small patches of ice. "I heard that there was a new flyer like me here. I had to see for myself."

"Oh," said Daisy, understanding what she wanted. "Well, I suppose that makes sense. But be quick. We don't want you getting sick."

"I'm surprised you humans aren't getting sick from being around the sick ones here," the female crested one remarked.

"Humans can't catch the illnesses from the Residents," Daisy told her. It was true, humans cannot catch illnesses from the Residents unless it was a zoonotic disease. If there was one, the Residents may not get sick nor notice it because they would just be vectors. Thankfully, the Residents didn't seem to have any.

Flia nodded in understanding, reassured at the notion. When her attention switched to the sprawled pterosaur on the ground, her eyes went wide.

"Wow…" she uttered in amazement. "The rumors are true. He is just like me."

Daisy could not help but admire her fascination. Prehistoric Park may have the small flying theropods and the modern day birds that flocked there, but she was the only pterosaur in Prehistoric Park when she was rescued. Then when that one _Rhamphorhynchus_ was rescued from the Jurassic period months ago, the park obtained two pterosaurs. While Flia was happy that there was another flyer she could relate to, he was not the same as her.

Now that she was looking at an individual that was of her species, or remotely close to her, it was like a breath of fresh air.

As she continued to inspect this newcomer, she retreated back when he started to stir. Aeros groaned as he slowly got up, albeit wobbly from the anesthesia and his casted wing. He had been out for a while.

The weary pterosaur opened his eyes. He shook his head, trying to get his vision to adjust. As he did so, he yelped in surprise when he saw the white things around his wing. Daisy ran up to him and placed her hands calmly on his chest.

"It's okay," she reassured. "They're there to help your wing. Don't try to move it."

Aeros looked at her, his eyes peering at the human as if she were some kind of unknown intruder. She stood her ground, though she felt her hand slowly reaching for her electric prod inside her coat pocket, just in case he went violent. Any creature that was under anesthesia for some time would be overwhelmed by their surroundings; perhaps see everything as a threat. That was, if they were not handled correctly…or if the vets had no means to communicate with them.

The _Pteranodon_ exhaled and took a step back, recognizing one of the humans that helped him from before.

"Where…where am I?" he looked all around him, even taking notice of the other dinosaurs that were sleeping nearby. He found himself unbalanced when he tried to stand on his casted wing, which he quickly righted himself when he propped it closer to his body.

"You're in one of our tents," she explained. "Your injury was bad when we found you. We needed to get you to our infirmary for healing. Unfortunately, we couldn't fit everyone so we moved you here."

"Oh," he replied, though she could tell he had no idea about some of the terms she mentioned. "How long have I been in here? The last thing I remember was lying on top of that one carnivore and running out of the forest."

"You've been unconscious for a couple weeks. We…drugged you so that we could heal your wing," she explained as simply as she could.

The red _Pteranodon_ stared at her, shocked. While he wanted to exclaim, he kept himself quiet out of respect. Daisy liked that; he was tough yet polite.

"It's amazing that you heal very fast. Your arm has healed, but your fingers need some time."

"How long am I going to have these things on me?" he said, looking at the white solid gauzes that wrapped around the top of his wing.

"The casts? We'll need to keep them on a little longer; two weeks at most."

He looked back at her, nodding almost reluctantly. She could tell he wanted to fly again, but at the moment, he was grounded.

"Whatever helps I guess," he said. "Thanks. So how long have you-"

Daisy wondered why he had stopped mid-sentence. Or why he had looked away from her; or more specifically, passed her direction. When she turned around, she found the reason why.

The vet took a few steps back to allow the two pterosaurs some space. Aeros, while wobbly due to his limp, was able to stand before the purple female. The two of them inspected each other like they were from an alien planet. Flia had taken to walking around the male to check his body, most likely to judge his physique. Daisy had to stifle a giggle at how amusing it was.

It was when Flia had stopped in front of the male that they finally introduced each other.

"Hi…I'm Aeros," the male _Pteranodon_ finally managed to break his trance.

"Flia," the Valley Herd sky scout returned the gesture. "You really are like me."

Aeros sheepishly chuckled. "Uh…yeah I guess," he then took a quick look at his body, especially on his broken wing. "I didn't know there were others living in this valley. I thought they all migrated."

Flia smirked. "Oh um, well I'm a special case. I'm not from around here."

"Oh? Where are you from?"

The female _Pteranodon_ softly giggled. "Let's just say it's complicated. It's been a while since I've seen another of my kind."

Aeros cocked a brow, curious at what she meant. "Really? I guess we are similar; well except for these white things that are on me," he lifted his wing up, though not too high.

The two of them giggled. For the next few minutes, they continued to converse about themselves. Daisy gave them some time to do that; it has been a while since Flia had seen another _Pteranodon_ and Aeros had just woken up from an induced coma. The two of them seeing each other made a good refresher. Though it was a bit humorous on how engaged they were being towards each other. Daisy wondered about whether this kind of thing would escalate into something more.

It was a nice thought. However, there was one thing that bothered her about this meeting: the venue.

Daisy stepped up to them, wanting to warn them about where they were. "Excuse me," she said, getting their attention. She had to look up at them as they were taller than her and nearly the same height as each other; though Aeros was a little bigger than Flia. "I apologize for interrupting, but this perhaps isn't the best place to get acquainted as it's reserved for the sick. Let's get to one of the other tents where you will both feel more comfortable."

"Oh right," Flia got embarrassed immediately. "I forgot about that."

She went over to the edge of the tent. Aeros wobbled after her, followed by Daisy herself. The female sky scout told the keepers at the exit the situation and they agreed with her. They got ready to open the flaps for them.

Flia turned around to face the male flyer. "Follow me. I know a good place we can go to."

When she said that, the flaps to the outside opened. An Arctic wind blasted them. The pterosaurs shivered but they hurried on out. Due to Aeros having no flight at all, he had to do an odd gait with only three limbs; almost as if he were hopping and running at the same time. Daisy chose to follow after them as she wanted to make sure they got to where they were going safely. Knowing Flia, she knew she was referring to the tent where her friends were.

Daisy was happy that they finally became acquainted. And with her duties done for the day, she needed a break. She went over to Kerato and told him the situation. Moments later, they marched through the cold winds.

The day may have started harsh, but after what had occurred recently, it ended on a lighter note.


	26. First Snowfall

**_A.N. Hi everyone, it's Darksage. Please don't kill me! I had a very busy several weeks with moving into my new apartment and work has been overbearing lately. Performance Review was coming up and it's been difficult to do any writing lately. I've also been working on a new novel that is not fanfiction, but I'm back now. Sorry about the long wait. Here is the newest chapter in Long Night of Winter!_**

 ** _Soundtrack: Yonhon Ashi no Odori by Ki Toki To/_** ** _/Silent Snow by Derek and Brandon Fiechter/_** ** _Memories by Derek and Brandon Fiechter_**

All of Temporary Park had to struggle against the very environment that the Alaskan wilderness threw at them. However, they all made due. The human keepers used every trick in their book to keep warm: conserving energy so that their generators could provide power for the heating system, wearing extra layers, sleeping near their bunkmates so they could share body heat, and even going as far as building large fire pits around the park to provide light and warmth for both humans and Residents. There was a lot of back and forth when it was decided to use fire to light and keep everyone warm. The chief most concern was that future paleontologists would find their fire pit remains in the future. Luckily, Chris' blunt reasoning swayed the Keepers: "If you people want to freeze to death, then be my guest. Meanwhile, I'll keep warm with the easiest heat source that we can produce."

The Keepers reached a compromise and decided to dump the old ash remains from old fire pits into the forest to avoid it looking too uniform and organized.

The Residents and Alaskan dinosaurs were at first terrified of the human's casual taming of fire, one of the most primal fears of all living things. However, they couldn't deny the welcomed warmth the orange flames gave and the comfort they gained from not being totally shrouded in darkness.

Everyone learned to deal with the encroaching cold, but the next morning brought about a surprise for everyone.

Mikiya was busy wandering the grounds of the Park. The little pachyderm was clad in several cannibalized winter jackets. Daisy went out of her way to make sure the young African mega-fauna wore something warm once she recovered from her flu. She was trying to find her friends so they could play together. It was a bit difficult to find them in the nighttime. The young calf has never been up late at night before but considering that Alaska had a never-ending night for all of winter, this was quite the experience for Mikiya. The calf just sighed. For all she knew, it could be the afternoon and her friends could already be sleeping.

"Dumb sun hiding. Confusing everyone's bedtimes." Mikiya grumbled. A gentle breeze blew through the area before the young calf felt something peculiar.

A single white speck floated down from the blackened sky and gently landed between her eyes. Her face scrunched up in confusion as she motioned her trunk to retrieve the alien speck that landed on her face. She was met with nothing but a droplet of water. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted yet another speck float down. That was followed by another, and another, and another! Minutes later, the whole sky was raining down the feather-light specks. These white dots falling from the sky… they must be stars! The sky was falling! Concerned, Mikiya rushed off.

"Auntie Martha! Auntie Martha!"

Napping near one of the employee barracks was the little calf's Mammoth auntie. Even as Mikiya approached, she could see that a considerable amount of the white specks coating her brown fur, acting like a second coat. The ancient pachyderm took no notice. The elephant calf was at Martha's side in a second and frantically shook her shoulder.

"Auntie! Auntie! The sky is falling!" Mikiya shouted. "Auntie! Stars are falling on you!"

Groaning, the Pleistocene mammal rose up to her feet. Half asleep, Martha shook her fur once, dislodging the white "stars" from her fur and surprising the heck out of the tiny African elephant.

"The ice is setting in... Have to inform the matriarch… Get the herd moving…" Martha mumbled as she stumbled off with purpose and half-lidded eyes. Confused, Mikiya clambered after her drowsy aunt and tried to get her attention again.

"Auntie, what are you talking about?" The calf questioned. Now more alert, Martha turned to her niece.

"Mikiya, what are you doing—?" Martha finally realized where she was and sighed. "Oh, so we aren't in my home era…"

The calf looked up to her aunt questioningly. "Auntie Martha, what are these things? Are they part of the sky? Stars?"

Shaking herself out of her reverie, the Mammoth giggled at her niece's colorful imagination.

"No, Mikiya. These aren't stars or the sky. This is snow."

Martha then wrapped her trunk gently around the curious calf's body before giving her a gentle nudge to her left. Mikiya gave some resistance to her aunt's urging, but was overcome by the Mammoth's strength.

"Get into one of the tents, Mikiya. It's getting chilly. You don't want to catch another cold."

The calf did not argue against that. She had been feeling rather cold. Even with the layers upon layers of fleece and fabric that were on her body, the little elephant still shuddered from the cold. Some heat and maybe some hay would be good right now.

The two of them made their way towards the warming tents in the valley in the endless night with thoughts of warmth and comfort eased them with every step.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With winter now at its peak, though some in the park argue that it was going to get worse, spirits were all the more strained. The Residents that did not share the blessing of having an indoor enclosure were forced to endure the dangers of the frozen landscape. Those that were not adapted to such a blistery climate had been spending a lot more time in the warming tents; the only times they would venture out into the cold would be to forage, or hunt if they were carnivores. The only exceptions to this were the Alaskan Pachyrhinosaurus, who were used to such conditions.

Apprehension was in the air. Everyone feared the dangers outside the park. Though the forest surrounding the valley was thick, they knew that there were predators out there. However, after the horrifying Albertosaurus episode from before, it was strange that none of those tyrannosaurs had shown themselves. Most of them cautiously inferred it to the park's carnivores keeping them away. Others thought they were biding their time before attacking again. Whatever the case, even with the walls with spikes and the White Noise Cannons, everyone feared for their lives.

And it was not just the integrity of the park that had them worried. Everyone wondered about how the other herds outside the park were faring. No one wanted to risk doing an expedition outside in fear of being hunted down. The only ones that could do that safely were those with wings. But with the snowfall outside, along with the cold winds, such a task would be suicide.

At the moment, everyone was huddled in tents, taking shelter from the storm outside. Employees had ceased their tasks for the time being until the storm eased up. Surprisingly, Hazel did not object to the sudden break. Either she was busy with other things or she too was taking shelter. Either way, the staff found this break a momentary relief.

The staff members all found this time opportune to take shelter in the buildings, but there were a number that took shelter in the warming tents, either because they were outside when the storm came in or they wanted to be with their friends. This could also be said for the park's future leaders and a certain teenager.

Right now, they were waiting near the edge of one of the tent flaps with their companions, waiting for the storm of ice and snow to end. Daisy was resting with Kerato while Chris was making sure the _Protoceratops_ sisters were not hurting themselves in a game of tag. Espantos was just preening his feathers while his partner was trying to keep himself busy with playing Candy Crush Saga on his phone. As for Hanna, she was reading one of the picture encyclopedias of prehistoric creatures her sister had lent to her a few days ago; learning more about the Residents as well as prehistory seemed like a good alternative to workout sessions.

At least neither of them were going through any arduous training by Nero and Sarge. That was one good thing about this snow day.

The quiet waiting was broken by Ellis groaning.

"Geez, it's already noon," he deadpanned after reading the time on his phone, which was actually 11:42 AM. "Is it still dark outside?"

"Considering the time and place we're in, most likely," said an unenthusiastic Chris.

The engineer groaned and fell on his back before letting out a whine. "How long have we been here? it feels like we've been here for years!"

"About three months."

Daisy chimed in with optimism. "Oh good. Only another month left."

"Yeah, of this frozen hell!" Ellis whined.

The vet held a finger up to her lips, her brows furrowed in a strict fashion. "Shush! Keep your voice down."

"Hey, has anyone bothered to check if it stopped snowing?" Hanna asked them, her attention torn from a page on facts about Spinosaurs. "Maybe it's okay to go outside?"

The Grecian woman shrugged and slowly got up, making her way towards the tent flap. "I suppose it's better than sitting around."

With that said, the four of them made their way to the tent flap. Two well-prepared members in winter garb stood on both sides of the exit, both armed with stun guns and survival knives. Daisy explained them the situation and they accepted. The men approached the orange scissor lift in the far right and drove it near the exit. Once inside, they activated the mechanism that brought him slowly up. The small group of humans watched as they grabbed onto one zipper and descended, releasing the interlocking hold with each movement.

When that was done, they dismounted off the box and proceeded to drag the zipper away in opposite directions. The cold wind of the outside met them unceremoniously, chilling them. Distressed groans brought their attention behind them; the Residents inside were curious as to why the humans were opening the barrier that kept them warm. The dinosaurs around them took several steps back as they tried to flee from the cold.

The young group ignored this and proceeded to check outside. Gone was the permafrost lands and brown earth that made up the valley. While it was still dark, the moon was visible enough to illuminate the valley. The white snow that blanketed the place shined brightly with miniscule sparkles. The trees were also covered with snow, making a picturesque scene. The storm had stopped, yet the sky still had streaks of dark clouds.

While the valley was cleared from the storm, the only ones outside were the Alaskan _Pachyrhinosaurus_ herd, who were meandering about the place grazing or taking a stroll. The younglings frolicked in the icy land, playing in the snow. Being from this region, they were used to this kind of thing. It still astonished the temporal foreigners that such individuals would find this place to be homey.

The sound of the river that passed the valley still sounded. Peering over, they could see the waters still rushing. Bits of ice covered the edges, but they knew with how this climate was, the river would soon freeze up.

"Oh wow..." Hanna gasped in utter amazement.

"Beautiful!" followed an equally stunned Daisy.

"It's like a winter wonderland!"

Ellis whined once more. "Oh great! It snowed! I guess I'd better let the staff know to prep our snowmobiles," he yelled with a facepalm.

Moments later, the humans were surprised to see the Residents that fled the cold had joined them at the front, albeit tepidly. They watched the emotions of wonder, curiosity, and caution flood their features. Some of them were even staring at the boundary where the tent canvas and the snow were separated. They could not blame them; they were from a much warmer climate. Snow and ice were in fact alien to all of them. Well, almost.

And it was not only the adults that were present. At their feet, a few courageous younglings made up of Iguanodons, Parasaurolophus, Struthiomimus, and tiny Microceratus were checking out the snow. The bleats and cries they made were soft. However, the most defining action they did were their hoofs that were slowly approaching the top of the snow, only for them to retract at the slightest touch of cold.

Daisy, amused by the spectacle, decided to give them a little nudge.

She knelt down and pet the sky-blue and grey Iguanodon next to her. The youngling yelped at the touch and stared at her with his grey eyes. The other children's attention turned to her too.

"It's okay," she told them. Daisy placed her gloved hand on the snow, making a handprint. The young dinosaurs stared in wonder at how soft the white stuff was. "It won't hurt you. There's nothing to worry about."

The younglings looked inquisitively at the mark the human made. Now a little braver, the blue _Iguanodon_ decided to follow her example. He softly pressed on the snow, crying a little. A smile creased his face at the feeling which was then followed by a gleeful squeal. The now interested youngling took off, bounding in the snow.

He was then followed by the other younglings present. The children, thrilled, jumped and ran in the wintery space. Some kicked at the frozen water particles, creating falling veils in the air. A few of them were rolling in the snow, the frozen water sticking to their hides, which came off after a few shakes. It was also a funny sight seeing the children get half buried when they got further out, leading to them trying to scramble out of the icy trap.

Seeing at how much fun the children were having, the adults relaxed and bravely went out into the open. Their fears melted and were replaced by enjoyment. Some of the most seasoned adults began to act like children at the new sensation of snow. They played with the younglings, even with their friends and families. Thankfully, the humans that were present were able to get out of the way of the excited stampede. Though, they did not want to miss out on the fun everyone was having. If the valley was now covered in snow, they might as well have a bit of fun.

For the first time since they arrived in this time period, nobody minded the cold. Residents and natives mingled together, having fun in this winter wonderland.

One hour passed and everyone was still enjoying the outside. A few employees made sure operations still ran smoothly in the park. However, other staff members were still having fun in the snow. It was not every day one got the chance to play in Prehistoric Alaska in the snow. The carnivores reported no sightings of dangerous tyrannosaurs in the perimeter, so they were safe for the moment.

The future leaders also took this time to have a bit of fun. Daisy decided to be with Kerato and help groom him...and perhaps play their own version of tag. Hanna was with Chris on helping him look after the _Protoceratops_ sisters as they played with the other younglings.

Ellis, on the other hand, was the only one who kept at his duties. After letting Espantos go for a run, which resulted in him running around the place playing with everyone like the Looney Tunes Roadrunner on steroids, the young engineer went about to check on the White Noise Cannons to see if they have not frozen over. After finishing his rounds and making sure the Cannons were still operational, he ran into Talin and his friends, who were actually with Scar, Forrest, and funny enough, Zini.

Being the first time they've seen snow, the lemurs wanted to get a taste of it. Every single one of the primates were outside, dressed in the new thermals, socks, and mittens the keepers made for them.

Ellis shrugged; the park was safe so might as well take a break.

He showed the adventurous troupe the joys of a snowball fight. They built forts and threw packed snow at each other. While they were at it, Zini got the bright idea of pranking someone with a huge snowball. The nearest targets were Aladar and Martha, who were making their rounds along the perimeter while taking in the scenery.

Ellis smirked. They were fairly close to the forest edge. That would give them cover.

So they hid in the forest and prepared their ammo. Their targets had their backs to them. Perfect...

Zini had the first throw, hitting Aladar square on his rear, just behind his tail. The _Iguanodon_ let out a yelp and jumped back. The group hid behind a couple of fallen trees for cover.

The next one to do it was Talin. He prepared a snowball on a young sapling, which he used as a small catapult thanks to Ellis' guidance. The snowball flung in the air and hit Martha. As the pachyderm had layers of fur on, the cold was merely a minor nuisance. Nevertheless, the sudden sensation of getting hit was enough for her to turn around.

Again, they took cover.

The children did their best to stifle their giggles. Ellis had the same problem too. He remembered the times he did this to his brother Marcus on snow days. That usually ticked him off!

Unfortunately, when they prepared to fire their next ammo, they were met by a small avalanche above them. The human had to jump to the right to avoid getting hit. But that meant the others were caught in the mini blanket of snow. The children, and childish adults, were now buried or half-buried in the snow.

Ellis looked back at the forest edge. Aladar and Martha were laughing at their feat. No doubt they had this planned too. It turned out that Martha had thrown a snowball at one of the snow-filled branches and caused the avalanche. So much for ambushing them. Apparently the mega-fauna knew a thing or two on messing around with jokesters when it came to snow despite being large in size.

And so for the rest of the afternoon, the Residents frolicked in the valley in the snow day. The worries of the dangers outside the boundaries were forgotten for the time being.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

While most of the Residents were enjoying the snow, a certain duo of pterosaurs had their own agenda. Mainly, taking a flight around the valley while watching everyone play. With the snowstorm petered out, now was a good time to get some fresh air. Aeros' injuries were recovering well, and it was only a short matter of time before he would be able to fly again.

The whole time they were out, they were exchanging stories left and right on their origins. Right now, Flia was explaining to Aeros on where she truly came from, which the bewildered Aeros found hard to believe.

"So you along with mostly everyone here are from another time?" the crimson flyer inquired.

"Yeah, and another place too," Flia replied. "If I can remember what that youngster Kenzie said, we're just short a few million years apart if my herd and I had not moved to Prehistoric Park."

"And you met Hazel during one of your migrations?"

"That's right."

Aeros lightly chuckled, seeing the graceful luck he got. "If it weren't for you and your friends rescuing me and waking up in that odd cave, I wouldn't have believed you, though I'm still finding it hard to believe."

The purple female laughed as well, using her wings to float down from a raised ledge onto the ground. The red pterosaur followed after her. "Yeah I can sympathize with you there. I was quite surprised when Hazel told me she was from the future."

"So you've been living in the future for a while. How does your new home compare to where you came from?"

"Well, for starters, our new home is technically the same valley the herd came from, except in the far future. It is kind of strange; it is the valley I know, but at the same time, it's not. The humans did as much as they could to mostly make it the way it was before, but things have changed. Our new home is in a world apart from ours."

The questions that Aeros had asked her were mostly simple ones, all of which Flia was glad to answer. It was the next one that she felt a tug on her heart.

"Do you ever miss your old home?"

"Well, I suppose I do...sometimes," she saved face, giving him a quick smile to make light of the situation. "The former Nesting Grounds I mean."

"I wasn't talking about the Nesting Grounds," Aeros answered. "You said that before you joined your herd, you lived on a cliffside with a colony. You had a mother and several friends. You were the only survivor of your clutch."

The sky scout stopped. Her breath stifled for a moment. She thought she evaded that subject when she told him everything he needed to know. Her heart panged as she thought about her old family once more.

Her smile turned into a frown. Her eyes became saddened. "Aeros-"

The male saw this and shook his head. He sighed and tried to end the topic. "I see. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

She waved her wings at him, trying to save his shame. "No no. It's okay. You have a right to know. I do miss it, but that's in the past. There was nothing that could be done. Though...I do miss my colony...and my mother."

Flia made a small laugh, hoping it would lighten her sorrow. "Funny enough, had I stayed with her for a few more days, I wouldn't have met my friends."

Aeros took a few steps toward her, his face soft and sympathetic. "You lost one family, and gained a new one. There's a saying from us flyers around here. When one of us dies," he looked up at the dark sky, which loomed over the towering dark trees, "we become one with the sky."

The female _Pteranodon_ stared speechlessly at the wounded male. She had never heard something like that. Granted she never traveled past her former colony's cliff years prior and the only outside worlds she knew were the lands to and from the Nesting Grounds and Prehistoric Park. She never knew there was a whole other culture amongst her kind.

"Wow...I didn't know about that," Flia said, astonished. "My colony believed when one of us dies, we rejoin the Great Being in paradise."

Aeros chuckled. "Well, I suppose that's another way to put it."

She blinked away the tears that were welling up, pushing back her emotions so as to not appear sappy to the male flyer. "My mother and my old friends, do you think they're watching us right now?"

Slow as he was and on all fours, the crimson _Pteranodon_ inched closer to her. The feel of his warm picno-fibered skin on hers made her tingle a little. Something inside her heated up, but nothing negative. What was this warm feeling?

Was she falling for him!? No, she shouldn't be. They only just met. But maybe…

"I think wherever they are," Aeros said warmly, "they're proud of what you've become."

Flia could not hold her smile back. She knew what he was doing. He may be disabled right now, but he was helping her, helping to cope with her loss and giving her strength to pull through. He was meeting her expectations; someone who can pull her up from sadness, someone who can reassure her that everything was going to be okay, someone who seemed like they would stand with them no matter what.

The warm feeling inside intensified the closer he got to her. Their wings were barely touching.

The sky scout let out a quick breath and inched away, giving them about a foot of space. The male looked despondent. While that was painful to her, what was going to happen was going too quickly. He passed her standards, but she needed to know if he truly is worthy to be her partner. And that meant he needed to overcome more hurdles.

"Thank you Aeros, for your helpful words," her face took on a more serious approach, "Listen, I know what you're trying to do. I'm not exactly that easy to coax over, you know."

Aeros stammered, fumbling in his speech though in a rather cute manner to Flia's eyes. "Wait wha? You...no you don't."

"Yes I do, all the signs are there."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, we're the only two _Pteranodons_ in the valley. I won't lie, you are good looking. But whatever you want from me is something that isn't claimed immediately. It's earned. So if you don't mind, I'd rather take things as they come. We've only just met after all. In other words, let's take things slow."

The injured pterosaur was speechless, which then resulted in him sighing. His disappointment was clear for her to see. A small smile appeared shortly afterwards.

"Okay, I guess we can go that route. It's just…you're the first female I've seen in a while. I guess my inner conscience was getting out of wing."

Flia chuckled. "Well, your inner conscience may need a bit of work, though you are charming."

The two of them chuckled for a moment. Flia then cleared her throat and turned round towards Temporary Park.

"Now I don't know about you, but I'm a little hungry," Prehistoric Park's sole _Pteranodon_ said, the subject of love making her forget her appetite.

"Really? Oh good, I was wondering about that," Aeros quickly changed the subject as well. "I'm a bit hungry too."

"Let's go find a keeper and get out of the cold. My wings are about to freeze off," she shuddered in the cold, "They can have our food brought to one of the tents," she walked off back towards the park, with her male companion following closely as best as he could.

"Sounds good to me."

The two of them walked back towards the closest warming tent together. While the topic on them being together was delayed, it was something they took into consideration. They were not together, but neither of them minded walking closely together, their infatuation becoming ever more challenging to conceal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nero stared at the Herd, his Herd, from the edge of the forest line. He watched them chat and play in the layer of fallen sky ice without a care in the world. At least, the ones that decided to take the opportunity. The rest of them were either getting their fill elsewhere or getting their exercise before returning to the warming tents.

He was never into exploring to frolicking. Child's play, he believed. Getting the job done or doing things his way went more along with his belief. However, with this winter and cold weather, he was just doing his best to survive.

Nero grumbled. They were acting like idiots. They chose to ignore the danger they were in. They should be huddling for safety in the tents, or helping to defend the valley by patrolling about. No, they decided to play around. So immature of them…

Then again…there was that feeling he was having. He had been keeping his distance from his Herd for a while. Every time he looked at them, all gathered, he felt a sense of longing; longing to be a part of them again. They were still unhappy with the fiasco he started before. It would make sense to shut him out. He did place them in danger. Then again, that was what he thought.

No, they would never accept him back. That was fine. He can live alone. He preferred that. Nero did not have what it took to be a leader, so he was not qualified anyway. They respected Aladar and Neera more than someone like him. They even hated Kron. So why bother?

He turned to head into the forest to find something to eat. With the threat of an ambush upon him, he still needed to stay alert. That was fine; he welcomed a challenge. As he traversed the weathered and withered vegetation, he came across a gray wizened nodosaur that was grazing at some pieces of rotting tree bark near a fallen tree. Nero did hear of this nodosaur. This old female was with that group of _Pachyrhinosaurus_ that butted heads with the Herd some time ago. He had seen her a few times prior, but never paid any full mind.

With most of the greenery now dead, there were few options to turn to for sustenance. Nero could have gone for some pine, but his stomach had no taste for the spicy and overly bitter vegetation at the moment. The sauropods were stomaching down the pines without a problem though. He could have also gone towards that cave the humans called a "greenhouse" for sustenance; that was where most of them were all going after all.

But no. He wanted to prove he could survive the elements without human intervention. He wanted to stay tough. For some reason, he relished the challenge of survival. This was new territory for him, and it was something he intended to conquer without human aid.

He used his hoof to lift up half a decayed tree log. He grimaced when he saw the grubs inside. From observing that nodosaur, he saw her eat one of those wriggling worms. The act of eating a wriggling worm was not only unheard of, but disgusting. He got one and ate it, retching at the disgusting texture and flavor. But he stomached it. How could an old one find this so easy to ingest?

As he was eating away at the exotic, yet nasty, meal, he found himself being approached by someone he least expected.

"Well fancy seeing you here. And here I thought I you guys would rather stick with your own kind."

Startled, the green ornithopod whirled around, the cocky yet deep voice making him think that the park's ornery Carnotaur was out to cause him spite again. He lowered his guard slightly when he saw it was just a Pachyrhinosaur.

Or more specifically, a Pachyrhinosaur with green markings; the same one he clashed with at the beginning of their stay.

"What do you want?" he demanded as the herbivore went for some frozen moss on a log.

"What's it look like to you?" Scowler slammed the reply at him. "I'm getting some dinner. Or is it lunch? Bah, I can't even tell with this time of day."

Nero huffed. The brashness of his former rival reminded him of a grumpy Sarge after a bad night. He took another piece of the rotten bark in his mouth and started chewing it up, much to his displeasure. The slimy and gritty feel of the grubs coupled with the rancid aftertaste were enough to make him want to barf. Though doing so would ruin his guarded image at this intruder.

The ceratopsian swallowed another gulp of the mushy moss, this time it was on a cluster of branches. The shake of the wood and the breaking of the bark rang in their ears. "Seriously though, why aren't you with the rest of the herd?"

Nero scowled at him, his scarred eye focused on the gorging Alaskan native. "Why aren't you?"

"Eh, I prefer some peace and quiet for my eating," he gave him a quick glance before getting back to eating. "But you, well, I beg to differ."

"What are you talking about?" the scarred on cocked a brow.

"I've had my eye on you for a bit. You lot are social folks. Seeing you alone is a bit odd. So I'm going to bet you had some tough times. Let me guess…you got kicked out for some stupid reason? Somebody pushed your buttons? You're pissed at somebody?"

Nero growled and lifted a hoof up, thumb spike ready to stab him. "If you don't shut up, I'm going to take some wood and shove it down your throat."

Scowler just snorted and chuckled, amused by the threat. "Well you can certainly try. I won't make it easy on you."

The _Iguanodon_ rolled his eyes. So much for threatening him. He did not look like the type to back down easily. Well, that was obvious after they first met. Idle threats would not make him go away. Yet this one seems like he is taking his sweet time here. Perhaps talking to him can help relieve some steam.

"I…tried to usurp my leader for his position. In my quest to obtain power, I ended up putting everybody in danger. I've gotten some backlash from everyone as a result. Now I've more than made up for my mistake, but I don't feel that they'll accept me back. Not that it's a problem to me anyway. I'd rather be alone."

"Ooh, looks like I was close," Scowler replied after a humored grimace. "Well moss-head, I can sympathize with you there."

He scoffed. "Yeah right. As if you nearly killed everyone in the process."

The former alpha let out a breath, which sounded more like a laugh. "Actually, I did, by accident. So you're not the only one."

Nero stared at him, surprised by such an answer. This herbivore, this annoying hulk of a prick, did something the same as him? Just how similar to him was he?

"How did that happen?" he asked.

Scowler angled his body towards him, feeling that it was better than always looking over his shoulder. He took in a deep breath and told him his tale. "Well I was the herd's leader before my brother took over. I beat the previous guy without breaking a sweat. I had everything I wanted. My brother tried to take it from me, but I kicked his butt. Now I did make the herd go over a frozen lake, and granted…some didn't really make it. But everyone else survived. Then I tried to take on a pack of Gorgosaurs, then ended up getting my tail handed to me. Long story short, I was a dunghead."

While the weathered warrior stayed silent out of respect, he could not help but be astonished by his story. He really did go through the same thing. He knows what he is going through. If his situation was the same, then the herd must have exiled him. But, if he was, why was he still around them?

"Now I don't know the details of your story," Scowler edged a bit closer to him, "but we both went through the same thing. We were caught up in the moment and karma ended up getting back at us."

"Heh, it's not exactly fun when you're on the other end of the stick," Nero deadpanned.

"Hey, whatever the case," he moved his head from side to side, making cracks as he relieved the tension in his muscles, "you got to move forward. My brother and I made up and I was accepted back into the herd. I respect the little guy; he led the herd against a pack of Gorgosaurs to save my tail. Since then, I have devoted myself to keeping the herd in one piece."

Nero's widened. That answer was something he hoped he would not have to do. What was being asked of him was easier said than done. This would never work.

"What, so you think I should try and 'make up' with Aladar?"

"Yeah!" Scowler replied in an overconfident manner, one that seemed a bit too childish, "I mean, it worked out for me. It's got to work for you. Look, what's done is done. We made some mistakes. Not everybody is perfect. What matters is what you're going to do about it."

"What about the others?" added the uneasy ornithopod. He looked towards where the edge of the forest was and found a few members conversing on the other side. "They don't trust me, not after what I did to them."

"Eh, just give it time. I had the same thing happen to me. I showed my herd that I made up for my mistake by protecting them. I did get some cold shoulders, but they came around. Besides, it's been what, a year? It's worth trying again."

Nero fell silent, contemplating those words. Scowler had gone through the same thing he is going through now. He was surprised that it was that simple. The rest of the Herd may not accept him for all he knew, but maybe Aladar and Neera? If they accept him, then others are sure to follow. It has been many months. Perhaps they did change their mind about him. He did defend a few from an ornery Kerato during that second breakout. He may still get some looks from everyone when the alphas accept him, but it is better than being ostracized.

The question was, would Aladar truly accept him back? He did try to usurp him and nearly killed him in the process. That, he did not know. Then again, anything could happen in Prehistoric Park.

Scowler, satisfied at saying his peace, smirked and walked away. "Heh, well it looks like moss here isn't good for me. I think I'll head elsewhere to find more."

Nero rolled his eyes. The emerald warrior knew that kind of tactic. He was just giving him space. The two of them were not the types to get sympathetic. They were tough, not like nearly everyone else.

Agreeing with that notion, Nero turned to go in the other direction. "Thanks, I guess."

"Eh, don't sweat it. Hey, I don't know about you, but you kicked my tail pretty hard that one time. I'm up for a rematch if you are. Sorry about before."

The _Iguanodon_ snorted. At least that was one thing they could agree on, and something he was practically okay with. He needed some extra training. "Humph, I've had worse. Time and place. I'll be there."

The ceratopsian laughed. "That's the spirit!"

With nothing left to say, the two of them went their separate ways. As Nero walked through the forest, foraging for some edible greenery he could stomach, he thought about Scowler's story and advice. This whole time, he had been thinking that he had been exiled permanently. Knowing Aladar, he does have a forgiving side. He did serve his time and learned his lesson.

The longing in his heart ached the more he thought about it. Nero hated to admit it, but he needed the Herd. Alone, he was nothing. He wanted to be part of something more.

Nero pondered on the time when he could approach Aladar and ask for his forgiveness. If it was going to happen, it best happen soon. Maybe then things will look up.

He had to hope.


End file.
